University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law 7-2-2021 A Roadmap to Revising Ethiopia’s Gender Discriminatory Laws: A Comparative Analysis Rangita de Silva de Alwis University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the African Languages and Societies Commons, Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Repository Citation de Silva de Alwis, Rangita, "A Roadmap to Revising Ethiopia’s Gender Discriminatory Laws: A Comparative Analysis" (2021). Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law. 2356. https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/2356 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law by an authorized administrator of Penn Law: Legal Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A ROADMAP TO REVISING ETHIOPIA’S GENDER DISCRIMINATORY LAWS A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS RANGITA DE SILVA DE ALWIS1 ABSTRACT Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country, the second-most populous nation in Africa, and one of the founding members of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was established on 25 May 1963 and replaced by the African Union (AU) in 2002. The headquarters of the AU is based in Addis Ababa. Today, Ethiopia has the largest GDP in East Africa and its economy is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Ethiopia is one of the few countries in the world which had achieved gender parity in the cabinet, and where women hold the positions of both President and Chief Justice. Ethiopia now ranks 18th in terms of women’s representation in Parliament according to the International Parliamentary Union. Ethiopia's new cabinet in 2018 made history for women in government with a 50 percent female cabinet. Ethiopia is only the second state, after Rwanda, on the continent to have equal gender representation in the cabinet. Ethiopia’s revitalized democratic process has opened up new possibilities for gender equality lawmaking and economic renewal. And yet, persistent gender inequality is undermining its full potential and poses serious threats to peace and economic stability. If gender gaps in the laws are closed, Ethiopia can ensure greater gender equality and secure a substantial growth dividend in the process. This paper provides a roadmap for gender equality law reform across the legal landscape in Ethiopia. 1 Rangita de Silva de Alwis is the Associate Dean of International Affairs at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Leader in Residence at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Women and Public Policy Program and Distinguished Adviser to UN Under Secretary General Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women. The paper for UN Women was written in December 2019. She thanks Eduarda Lague for her excellent research assistant. Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 4 II. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS: EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW ....................................................... 5 III. MAPUTO PROTOCOL: THE 2003 PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN ........................................................................................................................................... 9 IV. LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT ................................................................................................. 11 a. Gender Equality, Anti-Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace .............. 11 b. Domestic Work ...................................................................................................................... 13 c. Equal Pay for Equal Work .................................................................................................... 13 d. Comparative International Laws .......................................................................................... 15 e. An Intersectional Approach: ................................................................................................. 16 V. SEXUAL HARASSMENT .......................................................................................................... 18 VI. FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY ...................................................................................................... 21 a. Prohibits Discrimination Against Marital Status and Family Responsibility ............... 21 b. Trade & Marital Status .................................................................................................. 23 VII. DISABILITY RIGHTS AND INTERSECTIONALITY ..................................................................... 24 VIII. ADULTERY ............................................................................................................................ 27 IX. CHILD MARRIAGE ................................................................................................................. 27 a. Comparative Laws on Child Marriage ....................................................................... 30 b. Further Examples for Legislative Reform .................................................................. 30 X. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ................................................................................................ 34 a. International Legal Framework on Domestic Violence ................................................. 34 b. The Legal Framework on Gender-based Violence in Ethiopia ...................................... 36 c. Further Examples for Legislative Reform .................................................................. 39 d. New Lawmaking and The Expanding Categories of Violence: The Evolving Scope of Protection Against Violence In The African Region ................................................................ 43 XI. ABORTION ............................................................................................................................. 43 XII. HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES .................................................................................... 45 a. Addressing Different Manifestations of Harmful Traditional Practices (HTP): Intersecting Forms of HTP ....................................................................................................... 45 XIII. FEMALE-GENITAL MUTILATION ........................................................................................... 48 a. Comparative Laws on Addressing FGM .................................................................... 49 XIV. HUMAN TRAFFICKING ........................................................................................................... 49 XV. FAMILY LAW ........................................................................................................................ 52 a. Birth Registration and Identity ....................................................................................... 56 2 XVI. SHARIAH COURTS ................................................................................................................. 57 XVII. ETHIOPIA’S HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ...................................................................... 58 XVIII. WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION IN LEADERSHIP .............................................................. 59 XIX. WOMEN IN CUSTODY ............................................................................................................ 62 XX. LAND RIGHTS ....................................................................................................................... 63 XXI. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 65 a. Gender Stereotypes and Gender Equality in the Workplace.......................................... 65 b. Clear Definitions in the Law .......................................................................................... 65 c. Developing Greater Engagement ...................................................................................... 66 3 I. INTRODUCTION Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country, the second-most populous nation in Africa, and one of the founding members of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which was established on 25 May 1963 and replaced by African Union (AU) in 2002. The headquarters of the AU is based in Addis Ababa. Today, Ethiopia has the largest GDP in East Africa and its economy is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Ethiopia is one of the few countries in the world which had achieved gender parity in the cabinet, and where women hold the positions of both President and Chief Justice. The country’s new leader, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has made gender equality in politics a part of the country’s new political agenda. Ethiopia now ranks 18th in terms of women’s representation in Parliament according to the International Parliamentary Union. Ethiopia's new cabinet in 2018 made history for women in government with a 50 percent female cabinet. Ethiopia is only the second state, after Rwanda, on the continent to have equal gender representation in the cabinet.2 However, it should be noted that there is no legal requirement ensuring the representation of women