The Gender Equality and Basic Education in Ethiopia

Abstract

Education has been pointed out as a tool for democracy, multiculturalism and diversity by the international development sector. This article has posed the problem formulation investigating how the Ethiopian Education policy and legal framework address and shape inequalities in the education system and primarily those related to gender. Currently, girls’ education has also received great attention because, in the words of the United Nations, education is not only a right but a passport to human development. Evidence has been mounting on the pivotal role that educating a girl or a woman plays in improving health, social, and economic outcomes, not only for herself but her children, family, and community. However, girls and women constitute a majority of those who remain deprived of education as evidenced by the low level of their education and the prevailing obstacles to their access to education at all levels. Despite Ethiopia has brought some economic progress over the last decade, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world in terms of several economic parameters. In fact, the Ethiopian government acknowledges that promoting gender equality for Ethiopia where women constitute approximately half of the populace is not only in the best interest of the society at large, but also fundamentally that of ensuring the human and democratic rights of women.

Keywords: Education, Girl, Gender, Equality and Ethiopia

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-16-05

Publication date:June 30^th 2019