Gang rape spurs calls for reform in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Inside a gated home on the western outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital, a picture of Hanna Lalango is framed in a wreath of flowers just beginning to wilt around the edges.

The 16-year-old girl died on November 1, about a month after she entered a public mini-bus and was gang-raped by the strangers on board.

Hanna’s story is strikingly similar to a tragedy that took place in India two years ago, when another young woman boarded a bus, was raped by the passengers, and died from her injuries. That incident spawned a mass movement calling for an end to violence against women and impunity for perpetrators, making international headlines and sparking protests across the world’s most populous democracy.

But in Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country, the reaction to Hanna’s death has so far been subdued.

Ethiopia’s economy has grown rapidly in recent years, and the country has made major progress on health and poverty initiatives over the past two decades.

But violence against women remains an entrenched and often taboo issue. Eighty percent of Ethiopians live in rural areas, where patriarchal customs often effectively turn women into second-class citizens.

In cities and towns, Ethiopian and foreign women alike complain of constant sexual harassment on the streets. According to the UN, Ethiopia ranked 121st out of 187 countries in terms of gender equality in 2013.

Read more:Gang rape spurs calls for reform in Ethiopia

Source: Al Jazeera