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| My girls Itsubdink (left) and Habtamnesh (right) |
Last week I
attended the second annual AGE (Action for Gender Equality) Summit in Addis
Ababa, a 4 day event for volunteers and their students centered around the
Women's First 5 km run in Addis and put on by Peace Corps Ethiopia's GAD
(Gender and Development) Committee. Peace Corps Volunteers who had completed
the most gender activities in their communities were chosen to participate in
the summit and choose two students from their sites to bring along. This event
brought students together from SNNPR (my region, the South), Oromia, Amhara and
Tigray. Students never get the opportunity to interact with students from other
regions so that was another terrific aspect of the summit. I chose two 14 year
old girls from my gender club who I thought would benefit the most from the
event. I wasn't sure how the girls' parents would feel about me taking their
daughters away to Addis for a few days, but after sitting down with them they
agreed that this was a great opportunity for the girls. Even though I only brought
female students, some participants brought males at the request of GAD. When
talking about gender inequality it's important to understand that men need to
be a part of the conversation and movement towards equality as well. Men play
an important role by influencing other men and their female counterparts.
Gender equality will never be achieved without both sexes working together.
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| Ambassador Haslach speaking to the students |
The event was held
at the Red Cross Center, a training center with plenty of space for outdoor
activities, indoor sessions, and the dorm rooms on the compound. On Friday
morning we had a visit from the American ambassador to Ethiopia, Patricia M. Haslach. In her speech she discussed the importance of following your dreams
and making them happen. She also spoke about the mentors in her life that have
helped her achieve all that she has. In a field dominated by men, she explained
that confidence can take you far. Not everyone will be pleased to see a woman
in such a high leadership position, but that shouldn't stop you. You must know
that you are equal to your male colleagues. Obviously her speech didn't just
influence the students, but reached me as well.
The two days prior
to the race (the race was held on Sunday morning) were filled with sessions
about gender equality and empowerment. After the ambassador's visit on Friday,
the kids did an activity called "Walk a Kilometer in Her Shoes." This
is a relay race where boys have to perform some of the basic chores girls do
every day. The boys put on women's shoes and wrapped a ball around their backs
with a scarf to represent their "baby." They then had to chop
vegetables, fill a bucket of water, carry it across the compound and wash
clothes. Throughout the race the girls had to tell them if they were doing
something wrong and were cheering them on. The goal of this activity was for
the boys to realize how much work their mothers and sisters do. It showed them
how difficult it is for girls to study and do their homework when they have so
much work to finish at home first. Later, the kids did an activity called
"Gender Stadium" where both the females and males talked about their
gender roles and how having those roles makes them feel. Other sessions focused
on respecting one another's viewpoints, gender based violence, and
leadership/mentorship.
A woman from CCL
(Center for Creative Leadership) spoke to the participants about mentorship and
six successful Ethiopians were invited to do a career panel. The students also
got a tour of Addis Ababa University, the most prestigious university in Ethiopia.
The tour was followed by another panel with professors and students from the
university. The students had lots of questions for all of the guests. Sunday
evening we had a keynote speaker, UN HIV/AIDS Ambassador and 2003 Miss World
Competitor, Hayat Amhed. She is an incredible role model for these kids and it
was a treat having her come to the summit to talk about her life.
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Race day was
Sunday morning. We all woke before the sun came up and took a bus to the race.
We joined a group of over 10,000 women! This was such an incredible experience.
All sorts of women were participating, both young and old, big and small,
Ethiopian and foreign. It didn't matter what you looked like, everyone was
happy and cheering each other on. The energy was amazing. Women were the only
ones allowed to participate so the boys stood on the sidelines with posters
cheering us on and showing their support. Being a part of this event was one of
the best moments I've had in Ethiopia. It was a truly empowering experience.
What was even better was seeing our students thriving in this environment. I
can't begin to imagine what was going through their minds. None of these girls
had ever been to such a huge event. Before the race started we got a
performance from the girl group Yegna. Ethiopian Olympic gold medalists Meseret
Defar and Haile Gebreselassie blew the horn to start the race. The girls were SO
happy. I saw them completely let go and just be free. Us volunteers never see
girls this happy and excited in our communities. Most of the time they are
quiet and not at all outgoing. At site they fit perfectly into their gender
role so to see them at this race, dancing together, laughing as loud as they
could and running around was incredible. This is something I will remember
forever.
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| Itsubdink explaining her group's activity to the rest of the participants |
That afternoon
back at the Red Cross Center we had sessions about sexual harassment and sexual
health. Each of us volunteers also got with the students we brought to create
an action plan about how to bring the lessons learned throughout the summit
back to our communities. We finished the day with a talent show. Before heading
off to bed a lot of students had tears as they said their goodbyes.
I had an amazing 4
days and I can't wait to do more gender work with my girls and have them be
leaders of our school back in Butajira. I am so proud of them. In just a few days I saw these girls come out of their shells, speak up, and gain so much confidence. I can't wait to
see what we do together with the handful of months I have left.
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| Extremely proud to have these two as my students |
I know I have
written about these facts in a previous post, but I thought it would be a good
reminder of why the GAD committee and the gender work volunteers are doing
are so important to the development of this country.
These facts come
from the World Economic Forum 2013, DHS 2005, Oxfam Ethiopia Country Profile
2013, and UNICEF 2012.
• Ethiopia
ranked 118th out of 136 countries on the 2013 Global Gender Gap Index.
• Only
18% of Ethiopian women are literate, compared to 42% of men.
• In
Ethiopia, 71% of women have suffered from physical and/or sexual violence in
their
lifetime
• 81%
of women agree that wife beating is acceptable for at least one reason.
• 17%
of Ethiopian women report that their first instance of sexual intercourse was
forced.
• Only
14% of women are employed outside their family.
• Women
hold only 18.7% of land.
• The
2011 EDHS found that 12% of women aged 15 – 19 are pregnant or mothers.
• Fertility
rate is 4.8.
• The
maternal mortality rate is 470 (out of 100,000 births).
• Only
24% of students enrolled in university are female.
• Ethiopia
currently ranks 174th out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index.
Average incomes are less than half
the average for sub-Saharan Africa.
• 8%
of women were abducted and forced into marriage.
• Ethiopia
is ranked 76 out of 79 countries on IFPRI’s Global Hunger Index.
• Only
3.2% of the Ethiopian population is over the age of 65.
• Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM) prevalence by Region
• Amhara
– 68%
• Oromyia
– 87%
• Tigray
– 29%
• SNNPR
– 71%
On Saturday
morning, the girls that I took to the AGE Summit and I started a life skills
club at our school. The girls learned so much at the summit and are now ready
to share their knowledge with their fellow students. We also received GAD
(Gender and Development) manuals at the summit so we are using this as a guide
for our club. I met with Itsubdink and Habtamnesh (my two participants from the
summit) this week to discuss the logistics for our club. Since they know their
classmates best, they chose the students to invite to our club. We decided it
would be best to have both boys and girls participate and to meet in my
classroom. The purpose of our club is to give the students the skills they need
to become successful. That means we are going to be teaching them about
leadership, personal health, and making good decisions, all while promoting
English language and gender equality.
For our first
session we did an activity called "Life Tree." This is a personal
growth activity that aims to introduce participants to the importance of goal
setting in their lives and the significance of personal values in achieving
goals. By creating specific life goals participants will be motivated to take
the steps towards a successful and rewarding life (GAD Manual). We first had
the students imagine their lives in 10 years. We asked them what they saw? What
were they doing? Where they were? Who they were with? Next, all the students
were handed colored sheets of paper where they drew their own tree. The roots
represented their foundation and the skills they have now. In the tree and the
leaves they had to write their future goals. On the left side the students were
to draw clouds to represent tangible resources they would need to accomplish
their goals while on the right side they were to draw a lightning bolt
signifying any potential threats they might encounter in reaching their goals.
I love doing introspective activities like this and really enjoyed watching the
kids tap into their creative sides. Students aren't often given the opportunity
to express themselves and their ideas. It was nice doing an activity where they
focused only on themselves and where they want their life to go.
I'm most proud of
Itsubdink and Habtamnesh. It was wonderful watching them really take charge of
this lesson. They were translating everything that I was saying and during the
activity they walked around and helped all of the students. It's amazing to see
them sharing the knowledge and skills they learned at the summit by leading
these lessons. Our first session was a great success. I can't wait to see what
next week brings!
