Use the "back" button of your browser to return to the list of abstracts.
WOMEN LIBERATION IN TIGRAY, ETHIOPIA: THE EXPERIENCES UNDER A SITUATION OF CIVIL WAR [Abstract ID: 1102-09]
The policy of Women’s Liberation in Ethiopia was introduced under the Derg regime, along with other policies of socialism. However the Derg’s policy towards women was limited, and the estimate of that policy is still under consideration. On the other hand, during the civil war of 1974-1991, several anti-government movements or groups also had their own policies, based on the Liberation of Women. In this presentation, I intend to focus on the policy and practice of Women’s Liberation with regard to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), during the years 1975-1991. I had discussed the issue of Female Fighters of the TPLF at ICES 2016, and hence I intend to probe deeper into the topic of Women and the TPLF in this study. The TPLF had more than 20,000 female soldiers, and they received mass support, including the support of women in liberated areas, during the war against the Derg regime. First of all, I intend to discuss the process of introducing the policy of Women’s Liberation as a TPLF policy, on the basis of documents and testimonies of the policy makers. Second, I shall analyze the practice of the policy in liberated areas of the TPLF and at the TPLF’s military section, with reference to land distribution, education, political participation, transformation of patriarchal gender bias, and so on. Third, the reaction that arose with regard to these policies, both from men and women, will be examined. Finally in the conclusion, I shall discuss the issue as to how the TPLF’s policy towards women influenced those women’s life and agency, and the post-conflict society of Tigray.