90 percent of women in Ethiopia beaten: UN report
Oct 12, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — 90 percent of women in Ethiopia think their husbands are justified in beating them, the United Nation said on wednesday in a report that found conditions for females in the country among the worst in the world.
Releasing local results of a global survey on sexual inequality and its effect on reaching the so-called Millenium Development Goals, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said about 90 percent of Ethiopian women thought it was normal to be beaten.
“In Ethiopia about 90% of women between 15 and 49 years think that wife beating is justified for at least one reason”, Sanna Vesikansa, the UNFPA program officer for Ethiopia, told AFP on the phone.
The reasons women cite for accepting such abuse include complaints by their spouses of neglecting children, leaving the home without permission, refusing sex, not preparing food and talking with other men, the report said.
Worldwide, about 33 percent of women reported suffering from domestic violence, according to the report which gave Ethiopia the dubious distinction of tying with Egypt, where 94% of the women think it is normal to be beaten.
“Gender-based violence kills and harms as many women and girls between the ages of 15 and 44 as cancer,” said the report entitled “The Promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millenium Development Goals.”
“Ethiopia shows some of the worst indicators in terms of reproductive health and gender equality in the developing world,” Ethiopian Health Minister Tewodros Adhamu said in a statement read by a member of his ministry at a news conference to unveil the UN report.
Among those indicators are a life expectancy of only 41.1 years compared to the global average of 50.8 and astonishing maternal mortality rates, according to the report.
“Each year 25,000 women die while giving birth and 50,000 are disabled after having given birth,” said Monique Rakotomalala, the UNFPA country representative for Ethiopia, adding that only six percent of births take place with any kind of skilled assistance.
(AFP/ST)