Help a Girl Fulfill Her Potential
Ethiopiaid partners with local Ethiopian projects dedicated to promoting equality and opportunities for women and girls – and reducing harmful practices.
Challenge
There are many causes of gender inequality in Ethiopia: child marriage, gender-based violence, lack of female sanitary options in schools and scarce maternal healthcare. All of these act as barriers which stop Ethiopian women and girls from reaching their full potential.
Because of this, women and girls are most at risk of poverty in Ethiopia. Two in five girls miss out on school because they have no way to manage their menstrual hygiene. Many women then lose the chance to earn an independent income and contribute to their community’s development. And when a woman lives in poverty, her family and the next generation are far more likely to live in poverty too.
Solution
Did you know that when you lift a woman out of poverty, you’re helping lift up the community around her too? Experience shows that when a woman can access health, education and income, she invests this back into her family and helps bring about positive change in her community. Here’s how our project partners are making this happen:
- Putting an end to period shaming and helping girls stay in school through reusable sanitary packs, puberty information booklets and school workshops
- Ensuring vulnerable young women are equipped for an independent future through high school/university sponsorships and vital training in reproductive health
- Equipping single mothers with the means to provide for their families and contribute to society through agricultural training in sheep, vegetable and bee farming
- Setting up women’s savings groups which train women in financial literacy, provide access to finance, help them find work or start a business and help them develop leadership skills
![[Name_], age 6-7 with Maria Munir, Executive Director AWSAD (2) (1)](https://ethiopiaid.ca/wp-content/uploads/elementor/thumbs/Name_-age-6-7-with-Maria-Munir-Executive-Director-AWSAD-2-1-scaled-qk5re0cg49tsfhf65tdayv3x9ptsnmi5q0yl2oan6o.jpg "[Name_], age 6-7 with Maria Munir, Executive Director AWSAD (2) (1)")
A safer and more equal world
We partner with local organizations who provide support and opportunities for women and girls. Through their projects, they are:
- Raising awareness of the dangers of FGM and child marriage, to bring an end to these harmful practices.
- Building safe, inclusive communities where the voices of women and girls are heard.
- Providing women with the vocational skills and micro loans to support themselves.
if you have any questions about our partners’ work supporting women and girls please do get in touch.
Project partners
The Association for Women’s Sanctuary and Development
With seven safe houses across Ethiopia, AWSAD is a beacon of hope to those who have experienced domestic violence or abuse. They offer more than a safe place to sleep for women seeking refuge with babies and young children. Along with food and medication, AWSAD provides counselling and legal follow-up, basic literacy courses, art and dance therapy, self-defense classes and vocational skills training so that women can build a life beyond their recovery and leave the shelter as confident, independent individuals.
Afar Pastoralist Development Association
APDA was created alongside local Afar leaders who felt their needs were not being met by formal government services. APDA is dedicated to ending harmful practices, including female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage and the lack of rights for women in marriage. They also run life-changing projects in water harvesting, mobile health and education, and have been providing life-saving emergency support, in response to the recent locust plagues and conflict in the region.
The impact you can have
When you help women out of poverty, you’re helping life up her family and community too.
1,000
family members affected by the empowerment of 191 women in Eastern Hararghe.
99
women and girls provided with comprehensive safehouse services in 2021, along with their children, imparting essential skills and aid for a new beginning.
1,000
family members affected by the empowerment of 191 women in Eastern Hararghe.
99
women and girls provided with comprehensive safehouse services in 2021, along with their children, imparting essential skills and aid for a new beginning.
50
fistula survivors in Northern Amhara who became financially independent through crafts, literacy, and numeracy skills improvement.
35
women in Addis Ababa who attained tailoring certifications, securing stable incomes and ensuring their children’s education.
Many women and girls in Ethiopia face barriers throughout their lives.
Inequality can affect girls from the moment they are born. Many young girls undergo harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), and despite child marriage being illegal in Ethiopia, 40% of girls are married by the age of 18.
We believe girls and women are the key to building long-term change.
By protecting girls and promoting women’s voices, our partners are building a safer, more equal world.
Other areas of work
Provide life-saving aid for people affected by conflict and natural disasters. Responding to locally identified needs and solutions for long term recovery.