83rd ORDINARY SESSION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS
BANJUL, THE GAMBIA
2 – 22 May 2025
Your Excellency, Honourable Commissioner Mudford Zachariah Mwandenga,
The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is a regional feminist network with over 200 member organizations working across South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and the Somali region. We welcome this opportunity to address the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) this session.
We wish to bring to your attention the deeply worrying situation of women and girls in Ethiopia. This is with respect to the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), the alarming rates of femicide, female genital mutilation (FGM) and the growing levels of censorship leveled against women, girls and women rights organizations by religious and state actors, driven by vicious and underlying patriarchal norms. Ethiopia, like many countries in the Horn of Africa region, faces a complex web of interconnected challenges, including poverty, social inequalities, and conflict. These challenges exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and disproportionately affect women and girls, contributing to a culture of violence and impunity. According to an online survey which SIHA rolled out in August 2024 with 84 participants across diverse backgrounds, GBV was flagged as a pertinent issue to be addressed in the country by 54.8% of the respondents. Ethiopia rates of GBV are flagged at an overall rate of 39%, consisting of emotional, physical and sexual violence aimed at women and girls. This is in addition to the ongoing crimes of sexual violence occurring in the Tigray and Oromia regions as a result of conflict and instability.
Additionally, SIHA has been closely monitoring the sharp rise of femicide cases in Ethiopia, having documented the harrowing murder of 7 year old Heaven Awet in Bahir Dar who was raped, mutilated and killed by her mother’s landlord in September 2024. FGM statistics remain high, at 65%, ranking Ethiopia among the top ten countries with the highest prevalence in Africa. In January 2024, the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC) released a religious edict reversing its previous condemnation of FGM, with a pronouncement that it was now a recommended practice under Islam. Amid the pressure of vigorous advocacy efforts, EIASC later retracted its pronouncement and issued a statement affirming the national efforts against FGM. However, this is an example of the control and violence targeting the bodies of women and girls, rooted in patriarchy and harmful cultural practices.
In January 2025, SIHA also noted, with concern a hijab ban at schools in Axum, which triggered protests in Mekelle. While a case had been brought before the Axum District Court suspending the ban, this was later dismissed, leaving Muslim students without legal protection. Finally, we note that all these issues are currently ongoing amidst increased censorship and shrinking civic space within the country. In December 2024, the Ethiopian Authority for Civil Society Organizations suspended the operations of 4 human rights organizations, 2 of which were SIHA Network members. Though the suspensions were lifted in February 2025, we note the frigid conditions these organizations are currently working in.
These issues continue to persist despite Ethiopia’s national and regional obligations under key human rights instruments which it has ratified such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). We do, however, continue to note with concern Ethiopia’s reservations to the Maputo Protocol, limiting provisions with respect to the registration of marriage, inheritance by widows, abortion rights and the criminalization of marital rape.
In light of the context above with respect to women and girls, we therefore call on the ACHPR to:
- Strongly condemn and call on the Government of Ethiopia to take immediate and concrete steps to address the root causes of SGBV, femicide, and FGM perpetrated against women and girls as per Article 4 of the Maputo Protocol by:
- Enforcing existing legal and policy frameworks to prevent and punish all forms of SGBV.
- Ensuring access to justice for survivors of SGBV, including through the provision of comprehensive sexual reproductive health and psychosocial support services.
- Addressing harmful traditional practices and promoting gender equality through education and awareness-raising campaigns.
- Taking all necessary measures to prevent and respond to SGBV in conflict-affected areas.
- Collecting and publishing data on SGBV, femicide and FGM cases.
- Urge the Government of Ethiopia to fully implement the Maputo Protocol nationwide, without reservation; and
- Call for the support and protection of civil society organizations doing work on human and women’s rights amid concerns of the increasing censorship and shrinking civic space.
