Editor’s note: This is the ninth article in a series written this year by Franklin County native, Matt Westerberg, about his adventures as an English teacher with the Peace Corps in Yechila, Ethiopia.
Ma
It is unusual to find women in positions of power in Ethiopia. Indeed, it is difficult to find women possessing formal authority of any kind.
However, gender inequality is a global issue that manifests itself on every shore. In the United States, it is most obvious in our paychecks, with women making only 81 percent the salary of their male counterparts for the same work. In Ethiopia specifically, gender inequality is an immense problem, with women aged 15-44 at greater risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war, and malaria. In rural areas, roughly 75 percent of women will be abducted in their lifetimes, often as part of a forced marriage. In the midst of these heartbreaking statistics, an influential female leader challenges this status quo in my host city.
I will call this extraordinary woman, “Fatima,” for her privacy. As the Peoples’ Representative of her city, Fatima acts on behalf of her 18,000 constituents. She has been re-elected to this position for several years continuously. She is also a Muslim living in a society dominated by Orthodox Christians. As both a woman and member of a religious minority, Fatima holds political influence in a community that is often apathetic towards her gender and belief system. Her unique accomplishments beg the question, how did she rise above the many obstacles set against her in Ethiopia?
Civil war raged in Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991, with much of the fighting taking place in Fatima’s home region. Government troops bombed civilian marketplaces and even withheld foreign relief aid attempting to starve resisting communities to death. The desperation of the struggle mobilized men, the elderly, adolescents, and even a small number of women to fight on the front lines. Fatima was one of few women to become a combatant alongside male counterparts.
Fatima’s exploits in the conflict have made her a living folk hero in a community that has not forgotten her sacrifices. Her unique status as a veteran has contributed greatly to her rise in politics, and has led her to a career in public service.
Fatima’s story is without a satisfactory ending however. Her accomplishments are most remarkable only because it is so uncommon for any woman to achieve so much in Ethiopia. Indeed, the uniqueness of her circumstances point out the immense progress yet to made with regards to gender equality in Ethiopia. In all fairness, it is should also be noted how far the United States has yet to progress on this issue. Every nine seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten. Although women make up slightly more than half of the population, only 20 percent of the United States Congress is made up of female office holders.
There is a lesson in Fatima’s story. Both at home and abroad, the struggle to guarantee women the God-given rights and opportunities afforded more commonly to men continues. It is our duty as members of the same human family, to secure for all of our brothers, and sisters, the justice warranted them by their very existence. One woman in rural Ethiopia embodies this with her life and history, reminding us all that we have many just causes yet to fight for. Read more here
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