Like many developing countries, women in Ethiopia traditionally have been consigned to strict societal roles, usually focused on activities such as cooking, child bearing/rearing, agricultural production, and a muted societal voice. This leaves women at risk for a stifled ability to be engaged in important decision-making, earn a decent wage, and otherwise lead healthy and meaningful lives. Many women in Ethiopia also become victims of damaging cultural practices such as female genital mutilation or early child marriage. Women are disproportionately affected by elevated rates of malnutrition, domestic abuse, lack of formal education, and more. While women do the majority of the work and are often the ones who manage all the household activities, they earn far less and have much fewer opportunities available to them.
As Ethiopia strives to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and elevate the status and role of women, there remains a colossal amount of work to be done. P2P is one of many organizations committed to the advancement and promotion of the well being of all women in Ethiopia and globally, and is engaged in a number of activities that seek to enact positive change in this regard.