Ethiopia follows a federal system of governance with eleven regional states and two 'chartered city' administrations, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Ethiopia has bicameral parliamentary system, of which the lower chamber is the House of Peoples Representatives (HoPR), and the upper chamber is the House of Federation (HoF). Currently, the House of Peoples Representatives (HoPR) has 470 members (275 men; 195 Women). The percentage of women is 41.49%. As of October 2021, women hold 36% (8 out of 22) of ministerial positions at Federal level, and 33% of cabinet positions (including the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers) a regression from the 50% parity in 2018. At State Minister level the representation of women as of October 20, 2021, is at 29% (15 out of 52 positions). At regional level, women’s representation in the executive ranges from 46% in Harari region to 11% in Amhara and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR). Since November 2020, Ethiopia has been witnessing a conflict in its northern part, which is disproportionately affecting women. While conflict can result in higher levels of gender-based violence against women and girls, including arbitrary killings, torture, and sexual violence, the normalization of conflict related sexual violence is evidence to pre exiting discrimination against women making them a primary target for such abuse and violation of rights, it also causes women to remain largely disempowered and undermines their participation in the country’s development and governance processes. PROBLEM STATEMENT Women in Ethiopia suffer from barriers that impede their equal participation in political processes. Most societies in Ethiopia are still highly patriarchal, with men dominating both private and public life and women largely relegated to activities that are less prestigious or tied to the domestic sphere. The conflict and unrest that exacerbated since 2020 is impacting women’s leadership roles and is causing a regression in women’s political participation risking negatively impacting the achievements that are gained by overcoming pre-existing discriminations. Conflict can induce structural changes that affect the supply of female politicians in different institutions. These institutional constraints include barriers such as political systems that operate through rigid schedules that do not take into consideration women's domestic responsibilities. Though country assessment on Ethiopia is not available, the current conflict is already demonstrating how it can directly contribute to the curtailment of women’s leadership roles and their right to political participation. Amhara regional state is one of the target regions of the UN Women’s Women in Leadership and Governance (WILG) Program. The WILG program has been working closely with the Amhara Bureau of Women, Children and Social Affairs (BoWCSA) through “Enhancing Women’s Leadership and Empowerment Project” since 2017 targeting middle and lower level of women leaders, the regional legislative body, community-based organizations, and male political leaders. So far, the project has achieved several milestones including conducting assessments on women’s leadership role in the region, curriculum & manual development, capacity development, mentorship & networking, and Dialogues and advocacy. Currently, representation of women in the Amhara regional council stands at 37%, participation of women in leadership positions in the legislative branch- (speaker, deputy speaker, standing committee heads) stands at 56.6%, women leadership at regional level stands at 16.4%, zonal, 23.1% and at Woreda level 22.7%. From preliminary data and the current trends, the conflict in the norther part of Ethiopia is already having a negative impact on the leadership role and status women in the region including a decrease in the participation of women in leadership positions. In connection to this, UN Women Ethiopia intends to conduct a rapid gender analysis to inform its intervention in the region and show the impact of the conflict on women’s leadership status and role in the region.
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