Ethiopia: Violence Against Women On the Rise

22 September 2011
analysis

As Ethiopian women's rights organisations struggle to stay afloat following government legislation that prohibits them from receiving international funding, violence against women continues to rise, writes Billene Seyoum Woldeyes. But in the absence of social and institutional support, where can victims of gender-based violence turn to for help?

With the news of what happened to Aberash surfacing and spreading like wild-fire as of yesterday, her wounds and her pain are symbolic of a dysfunctional society stained by the tears and blood of countless women whose cries and plea have often gone unheard and silenced by the taboos of culture. Aberash, an Ethiopian Airlines flight attendant whose ex-husband, Fisseha Tadesse, stabbed both her eyes out with a knife last week, now lies in a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand receiving medical attention to retain sight in one of her eyes, although local medical experts have ruled out the chance of survivability.

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