Page 26 - C.A.L.L. #33 - Winter 2010/2011

Ethiopian egalitarian community thrives | Newsdesk.org

Natalie Orenstein
November 2, 2010

Nestled in Ethiopia’s rural Debub Gondar Zone exists Awra Amba, a small, utopian
community in which men cook supper and religious observance is taboo.
Sixty-three-year-old Zumra Nuru, a longtime promoter of gender equality and
religious freedom, founded the society in the 1980s. As a child, Nuru was skeptical of
the inequality he observed on a daily
basis.

“My mother woke up long before it was

dawn and started to mill grains,” he said
in an Action Aid report. “My father
never helped her. He rather slept until
late in the morning. I questioned why
things should go this way but nobody
had the answer. I kept on inquiring into
these and other unacceptable practices

for which no one had the answers.” Zumra Nuru

In Awra Amba, which now boasts four
hundred members and a long waiting list, labor is divided equally among male and
female residents. Both participate in traditionally gendered tasks, such as plowing
and caring for children. Each member belongs to either the development committee,
or one of nine sub-committees that specialize in areas including education, care for
the elderly, and agriculture.

“This community is a haven for women,” said new Awra Amba member Fantaye Adem
in an IPS report. Adem was married at 13, before Ethiopia declared a minimum
marriage age of 18 in 2005. Though this recent national law is frequently neglected in
other parts of the country, Awra
Amba has had a minimum marriage
age of 19 for women and 20 for men
since its conception.

Additionally, Awra Amba women are
granted three months maternity
leave and domestic violence is
forbidden. In the rest of the nation,
female genital mutilation and
Men and women weave together
domestic abuse is prevalent.

“Our men do not oppress us and we have established a tradition of correcting one
another’s mistakes through discussions,” an Awra Amba woman told the Ethiopian
Students Association.

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