Gender Inequality Revised

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Gender Inequality
In the modern world, the issue of gender inequality has been doing rounds in the minds of many intellectuals and activist groups wanting to close the gap which still exists globally. There has been substantial national as well as international measures championing to tackle the issue of gender inequality especially in Third World nations such as Ethiopia. It is evidenced that close to over 135 countries in the world have managed to achieve gender equality. Among the states in the lists include Cuba, Norway, and Costa Rica.
Thesis Statement
Girls and women in rural Ethiopia suffer from many disadvantages as compared to men and boys. Gender inequality is an issue which makes women disadvantaged by low status such that they are denied the opportunity by the Ethiopian rural society to access social support networks. As such, gender inequality as manifested by the rampant discriminations against girls and women are acute. Primarily, the measures of gender inequality globally constitute the access to health along with life expectancy, primary education, other sociological factors, and political empowerment (Woldemicael 603). There is the increasing need to educate the society on how to handle gender inequality issues in rural Ethiopia to empower women to compete for rewarding national and international opportunities. Based on this literature, it is essential to make the problems of gender inequality a global disaster in each country in the world (Kamrany, Nake, and Robinson 1).

As such, there is the imminent need to make gender equality a global priority since this would only make up the most fundamental step in enhancing the development as well as the economic progress of people.
How gender inequality affects women in rural Ethiopia with their education
Gender inequality in rural Ethiopia is showcased by the manner in which the society misconceives women and girls. The issue of gender inequality as caused by the disparity in the education levels of women in the rural areas has made women focus on demeaning tasks in Ethiopian rural areas. As such, women suffer due to the inequality that comes with their education since they are denied access to equal opportunities that enables them to earn and decide on how to spend their money. According to many surveys conducted by researchers in the field of sociology and women empowerment, it is inevitable to observe how female factory workers are paid wages and salaries that only makes up a quarter of the amount that men earn in similar work (World Bank 1).
In Ethiopia, girls who attain a school going age are restricted by the perceptions that parents and the society as a whole have that girls should only be married when they reach puberty. The effect of this is that girls of such an age have no accessibility mechanisms to help them access remedial tutorial classes. In consequence, the impact that gender inequality on women living in rural Ethiopia is evidenced by the number of female teachers in various schools. Because of the prevalence of gender inequality, there are quite a few teachers who are supposed to be setting good role models to help enhance the improvement of women academic performances. Besides, the availability of such role models forms one of the key achievements to make women or feminists groups to address the generations-long discrimination entirely.
Gender inequality has affected women in rural Ethiopia in a negative way to the extent of blockading their minds to think on the most valid strategies to adapt to fight the issue affecting them and change how the society views them. The no access to educational facilities or other centers where people are enlightened has made women in rural Ethiopia to believe many stereotypes regarding women and their role in society. Primarily, this is because the attitudes and the age-old traditions of discrimination brought about by the dominating dependence on beliefs that are stereotypic accounts for the widening gaps or disparity in women abilities, skills, representation, income opportunities, and their decision-making abilities (USAID 1). In rural Ethiopia, the education of the boy child appears as most valued as opposed to girls who are overworked with household chores. Because of their active involvement in kitchen activities, many misconceptions about their education emerges to the extent of making many of the girls never to get a chance to receive secondary education, and in such a case, they terminate their education at around Grade Five (Colclough 20). The extreme of this is evidenced by the manner in which the rural Ethiopian society handles girls especially when girls drop out of school due to the immorality of sexual harassment as well as assault (Berhane 2). Mainly, this has been the concern affecting women with their education as the chances of the most parents to take back such children to school are limited. In several occasions, girls instead of being taken to secondary schools end up in forced marriages at a tender age. The effect of this is shown by imminent domestic as well as sexual violence which frustrates them for the rest of their lives (Yigzaw et al. 134).
With the lack of education brought about by gender inequality, the increasing vulnerability in HIV infections can be justified. When women are given the same education as men, they can be empowered to engage in the determination of changing trends in population (Türmen 412). The established awareness and the ability to reason enables women to prevent early pregnancies and decrease the rates of infections occurring each day in their lives. Gender inequality affects the way in which women in rural Ethiopia plan their pregnancies. It is evident that majority of Ethiopian women residing in rural areas do not enjoy the right to control the spacing as well as the children they would like to have due to less education they receive to help them defy demeaning demands by the society. However, it is funny to realize that this phenomenon is condoned by the laws of the country. The effect of this is the increasing suppression of rural Ethiopian women in many platforms apart from family planning and marriage. Ideally, this is since the society denies them the chance to make their voices heard in matters that relate to sexuality and household management (Gossaye et al. 7).
Gender inequality affects women living in rural Ethiopia significantly by making many women become low-income earners. Income inequality is a factor that has caused more frustrations and depressions on women who are tired of the situation presented to them by the rural Ethiopian society (Deyessa et al. 594). In connection to this, gender inequality has affected the services that women in rural Ethiopia get due to the unequal access to quality education the same way boys in the society are endowed with to improve their lives. If only rural Ethiopian women are accorded to enjoy the privileges of gender equality, the initiative of enlightening women on the importance that comes along with family planning can be achieved (Heward, Christine, and Bunwaree 17). Gender inequality has affected the promotion of health as well as the safety of girls and women in rural Ethiopia. The latest health survey conducted in 2011 found out that almost twenty-five percent of Ethiopian women face significant difficulties in the making of decisions, especially on issues at the family and individual levels.
The rampant gender equality in an Ethiopian rural society with education affects women in enhancing their abilities to expand and enjoy economic opportunities. Having inadequate or no education for women in such a place causes women to face several constraints which can be solved by emphasizing the importance of educating a girl child in such a society since unquantifiable benefits are realizable in future. The Ethiopian rural society presents a case study where men enjoy all the rights to access first economic opportunities than women (Unknown 1). Linked to this case is the women’s inability to obtain credit as well as lower the demand for the goods and service on sale due to the inexperience they have on marketing where educational skills are necessary. Consequently, gender inequality in the society affects negatively the ability of women to engage in the creation of businesses in a similar way men secure their livelihoods and prosper in other areas that require their economic muscle. The typical situation caused by the disparities in the opportunities that male and female can access is the stumbling block that prevents the encouragement of many agencies to finance businesses proposed by rural Ethiopian women.
Gender inequality affects women in rural Ethiopia with their education by reducing the roles that they can play in conflict resolution as well as the prevention of primitive wars in those regions. Women in every society equipped with enjoying the same rights as their male counterparts are excellent peacemakers (Semahegn, Agumasie, Belachew, and Abdulahi 1). The different education they receive is not enough to keep up the spirit of resolving conflicts that may occur in a society. The inequality in gender presents a situation where internal and external forces are against the support of women in building peace networks. These determinants emanating mainly from the Ethiopian rural unjustified point of view on women’s reduced right to equal education presents difficulties in how peace forums in the region are facilitated. As such, this is the reason as to why the potentials of women in the Ethiopian society are reduced to the extent that most of them fear to voice their grievances.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, gender inequality affects women in rural Ethiopia with their education in many ways. It denies women to enjoy equal rights with their male counterparts since such a society relies on the belief that they should be equipped with lesser education. The other aspect caused by gender inequality and associated with education is their reduced inability to make critical decisions that might be beneficial to the society as a whole. The insufficient levels of education brought about by gender inequality in rural Ethiopia are the reason for the prevalence of unplanned pregnancies among teens and also women who cannot make decisions on the spacing along with the number of children they would like to have in their marriages. With equal opportunities in education, the process of conflict resolution in rural Ethiopia can be enhanced since women are renowned peacemakers.
Works Cited
Heward, Christine, and Sheila S. Bunwaree. “Gender Education and Development: Beyond Access to Empowerment.” (1999). Print.
Colclough, Christopher, Pauline Rose, and Mercy Tembon. “Gender inequalities in primary schooling: The roles of poverty and adverse cultural practice1.” International Journal of Educational Development 20.1 (2000): 5-27.
Deyessa, N., et al. “Depression among women in rural Ethiopia as related to socioeconomic factors: a community-based study on women in reproductive age groups.” Scandinavian journal of public health 36.6 (2008): 589-597.
Gossaye, Yegomawork, et al. “Women’s health and life events study in rural Ethiopia.” Ethiopian Journal of Health Development 17.5 (2003).
Kamrany, Nake M., and Catherine Robinson. “The Global Problem of Gender Inequality.” Huffpost, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nake-m-kamrany/gender-inequality_b_1417535.html.
Semahegn, Agumasie, Tefera Belachew, and Misra Abdulahi. “Domestic violence and its predictors among married women in reproductive age in Fagitalekoma Woreda, Awi zone, Amhara regional state, North Western Ethiopia.” Reproductive health 10.1 (2013): 63.
Türmen, T. “Gender and HIV/Aids.” International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 82.3 (2003): 411-418.
Unknown. “Gender Inequality in Ethiopia – Rainbow For The Future.” Rainbowftf.Ngo, https://rainbowftf.ngo/destitute-people/gender-inequality-discrimination-ethiopia/.
USAID. “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment | Ethiopia | U.S. Agency For International Development.” Usaid.Gov, https://www.usaid.gov/ethiopia/gender-equality-and-womens-empowerment.
Woldemicael, Gebremariam. “Do women with higher autonomy seek more maternal health care? Evidence from Eritrea and Ethiopia.” Health Care for Women International 31.7 (2010): 599-620.
World Bank. “Unleashing The Potential Of Ethiopian Women: Trends And Options For Economic Empowerment.” Hdl.Handle.Net, 2009, http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18862.
Yigzaw, Tegbar, Anwar Yibric, and Yigzaw Kebede. “Domestic violence around Gondar in northwest Ethiopia.” Ethiopian Journal of Health Development 18.3 (2004): 133-139.
Berhane, Yemane. “Ending Domestic violence against women in Ethiopia.” The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development (EJHD) 18.3 (2017).