Perpetuating Patriarchy via Polygamy: Gaps in Legal Pluralism, the case of Afar and Somali regions of Ethiopia
Posted: 15 March, 2024 Filed under: Rehim Baharu Elala | Tags: child marriage, Civil Code, Deputy Chief Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, discrimination against women, Ethiopian Constitution, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), family relations, Federal Family Law, fundamental rights, Harmful practices, human rights, human rights violations, polygamy, right to equality, right to health, the right to bodily integrity, traditional practices, women’s marital rights, women’s rights Leave a comment
Author: Rehim Baharu Elala
Human rights attorney and women’s rights advocate
A Somali man should at least have three wives: one to raise the children; a second woman for the housework; and a third one whom he can beat as a warning to the others – An old Somali proverb
The above proverb reflects the societal mindset towards polygamy and the wrong perception towards women’s marital rights. This is besides the cultural and religious influences on women to engage in polygamous marriage both in the Afar and Somali regions. Inequality in the family underlines all other aspects of discrimination against women and is often justified in the name of custom or religion. To eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations, states are expected to take all appropriate measures.[1]
The 1995 Ethiopian Constitution guarantees equal rights for women with men in marital, personal, and family matters under article 34. The frequent mention of equality of men and women in all family relations arises from the need to combat traditional practices based on customary or religious notions that perpetuate discrimination against women.[2]
The Maputo Protocol: Abolitionist or tolerative approach to polygamy, in the light of Ethiopia’s reservation?
Posted: 21 August, 2023 Filed under: Meron Eshetu Birhanu | Tags: Article 650, Criminal Code, cultural norms, Ethiopia, human rights, imprisonment, lack of legal protection, Maputo Protocol, Maputo Protocol Ratification Proclamation, monogamy, polygamous marriage, polygamy, polygamy belt, religious laws, religious norms, Revised Family Code, social norms, traditional practices, women’s rights 1 Comment
Author: Meron Eshetu Birhanu
Technical Assistant, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
Despite growing modernity and advocacy for women’s rights, polygamy remains a common practice embraced by social, cultural, and religious norms[1] in most parts of Africa, including Ethiopia. The highest proportion of polygamy in Africa is found in the so-called ‘polygamy belt’, which spans from Senegal in West Africa to Tanzania in East Africa.[2] According to the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, 11 percent of married women in Ethiopia are in polygamous relationships, of which 9 percent have one co-wife and 2 percent have two or more co-wives.[3]
AfricLaw 