Political Participation of Women in Ethiopia: Law and Reality
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Date
2022-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In the past, women were not allowed to participate in their country's politics. Women's equal
participation and representation in politics is a fundamental human right recognized under
international human rights instruments and domestic legislation. These laws prohibited
unreasonable restrictions on the enjoyment of the right to political participation. As a result, in
addition to the numerous benefits, it provides to women, political parties, and society in general,
equal participation of women in the politics of the country is justifiable from a human rights
standpoint. Although women constitute half the population of the country and the existing laws
that provide for their equal participation in politics and affirmative actions, women’s
participation in formal politics remained low. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine
the legal regime-governing women’s political participation in Ethiopia against the reality on the
ground. To this end, the research has employed a combination of doctrinal and non-doctrinal
legal research methodology. Further, the study has used both qualitative and quantitative data.
Accordingly, the finding of the study shows that despite laws on equal participation and
affirmative measure aimed at compensating women for past injustice and discrimination, the
participation of women remained underrepresented in political institutions covered under this
study. The theoretical and empirical experiences of other countries within the ambit of the paper
show that the adoption of electoral systems that promote women’s representation and the
introduction of legislated quotas as part of the implementation of constitutionally mandated
affirmative measures are the best mechanism to ensure the women’s representation in leadership
and decision-making. Therefore, it is recommendable for Ethiopia to ensure the full
implementation of the existing laws on equal participation and adopt electoral systems that
promotes women’s representation and legislated quotas as part of the implementation of
constitutionally mandated affirmative measures.
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Keywords
Political Participation, Women, Affirmative actions, Electoral System