This paper includes a gender review of the Norwegian embassy’s portfolio in Ethiopia on natural resource management and food security. The paper aims at identifying ways and means of addressing and integrating women’s and gender concerns into the current agreements within present framework and budgets. At a glance, the paper states that the negative change in Ethiopian government's policy on rights based NGOs may influence the embassy’s work on women and gender issues.
The paper notes that women make up the majority of the poor and illiterate in the country. Though women play a vital role in production activities, they are denied recognition and access to resources. The paper indicates that cultural attitudes and harmful traditional practices are major factors that relegate women to a subordinate position. However, the paper points that there are currently some existed strategies and policies on gender issues, such as:
- micro- and small-enterprise development strategy;
- incorporation of gender in the national agricultural policy;
- introduction by the Ministry of Education of certain policy and strategic documents to address mainstreaming gender questions;
- attempts are ongoing incorporate gender issues in the reform of the Federal Civil Service Commission;
- efforts have been made to mainstream gender into the Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan.
Overall, the paper recommends the following:
- it is the responsibility of the embassy to ensure that gender issues are present on the agenda at all annual meetings and in dialogues with the Ethiopian government;
- the African Union's documents on women and gender issues that the Ethiopian government has signed could be used as reference in dialogue with it;
- the embassy should follow the work of the Development Partner (DP) gender group and support the efforts of that group.
