If Muslim males are marginalized in the political arena, then Muslim women are doubly so. On an official level, the Ethiopian constitution guarantees women’s rights, and the government ratified the International Convention to Eliminate Discrimination against Women. In practice, however, women are generally excluded from formal positions of power. This holds true not only within state institutions and systems, but also within the narrower Muslim community.
The Supreme Islam Council registered with the Ministry of Justice has no female members, and women do not serve as judges in Ethiopia’s sharia courts. The sharia courts themselves, while gaining in prominence alongside state secular courts, have not, on the whole, taken up women’s rights issues.”
(Source: Muslim Cultures Today: A Reference Guide)
On the topic of women this International Women’s Day.
