|
|
|
| |
| |
Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 19, 2005
|
|
| site design imagesparkle.com |
| August 10, 2004 |
Yosief Ghirmatsion and Hadnet Keleta - Womens'
Changing Role in Eritrea |
|
| |
 |
| Eritrean youth walking past Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie's bombed out former
residence |
After a long independence struggle with Ethiopia, Eritrea's citizens are rebuilding their society
step by step. According to the National Union of Youths and Students (NUEYS), the energy of youth
is key to this process. NUEYS, a Peace Boat partner, was started up in 1978 to improve the education
and health standards of a country so broken up by war that NUEYS itself was actually established in
Sudan. NUEYS focuses on teaching Eritrean history, matching youth with private companies to provide
vocational training and runs a weekly news radio program. Although NUEYS benefits from foreign aid,
it also generates its own funds through profit-making enterprises. One of these, Aser Printing Press,
prints novels, textbooks, brochures and financial documents, as well as NUEYS own bi-monthly magazine.
Aser, which means the "footprint" of those lost during the war, competes with other printing
companies, but also serves the public by printing awareness pamphlets and other NGO's materials. |
|
|
 |
| Hadnet Keleta talking to Peace Boat participants |
NUEYS' members represent the majority of young people from ages 16 to 30 out of a population of only
five million. With a long history of colonization by Turkey, Egypt, Italy, England and Ethiopia, Eritrea
needs every person to recover, especially the new generation, said Hadnet Keleta, a NUEYS Public Relations
officer whose father died during the independence struggle. "The people of Eritrea have been
hungry for peace for so long. And we are still hungry for peace. We've only had peace for seven years,
it's so little," Keleta said. |
| |
 |
| Massawa mural of women and men working together |
One of the biggest social changes brought about by the war has been the role of women in Eritrean
society. More than a third of all Eritrean women were involved in every aspect of the war, born of
necessity from fighting the much larger and better equipped Ethiopian army. "They were fighting
with the men. They were going everywhere the men went. They changed peoples vision of what they could
do," Keleta said. This shift continued after peace accords ended the violence. Women involved
in the war have now become leaders in peace time. "The government shows great interest in this
issue. The main thing is gender equality," she said. |
| |
 |
| Yosief Ghirmatsion |
Unlike many countries with military service requirements, the government also expects all women to
undergo the same six month army training as men. After this period both men and women must serve one
year of national service in a government-placed job relating to their profession, which Keleta, as
a Journalism major is now doing with NUEYS. Along with this the government has extended benefits unheard
of in many parts of Africa, such as 45 unpaid days and 45 paid days of maternity leave. Yosief Ghirmatsion,
auditor for NUEYS, served as a soldier for four years on standby. Ghirmatsion says women were oppressed
under men before the war. "Before liberation women were shy, but now they are better than men
in some ways. They know about their rights and they don't feel any inferiority across Ertirea." he
said. |
| |
 |
| The Topaz docked in Massawa Eritrea |
Similarly many new rights have been written into the Eritrean constitution, such as land ownership,
womenís education, salary equality and voting rights. Keleta and Ghirmatsion both say the commitment
by the people to put women in key decision-making positions has not occurred only on paper nor just
in urban areas. This fact is reflected in the makeup of the post-war government, with three women
serving as commissioners (Refugee, Rehabilitation, Land and Transportation) and three as ministers
(Social Affairs, Justice and Tourism). NUEYS plays an important part in sustaining this movement in
peacetime as well, with micro-credit programs to low-income families. "If their project is feasible
we give them a loan. In fact, the amount is very small but it helps them a lot," Ghirmatsion
said. |
| |
 |
| Bullet holes still mark many of Massawa's buildings |
Eritrea still struggles with many problems that threaten to balloon into larger problems. NUEYS is
particularly active in campaigning against female genital mutilation and promoting awareness about
HIV to slow its spread. According to Ghirmatsion genital mutilation is an especially difficult challenge,
as its tied up in tradition, although it causes many problems within marriages and many women who
have undergone it die giving birth. "Most importantly is the psychological impact - most of them
don't want to get married because of it." Ghirmatsion |
| |
 |
| A sunset over northern Eritrea |
With girls education program NUEYS hopes to start to solve those problems while raising the level
of education among Eritrean girls. Focusing on low-income girls, selected by teachers to receive special
aid, NUEYS has managed to keep them in school and has found they often rank first after several months
of minimal help. Although there are still problems, Keleta said NUEYS works closely with the Eritrean
government to advocate change. "Ten years ago the Muslim girl families didn't send their children
to school, but now over 70 percent does," she said. |
| |
|
|
|
