Peer-reviewed article
Gender norms in a context of legal pluralism: Impacts on the health of women and girls in Ethiopia.
Cohen D, Jasper K, Zhao A, Moalla KT, Nwuke K et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper examines how local legal systems in Ethiopia, including Sharia and Customary Dispute Resolution courts, affect gender equality and the health of women and girls. Despite national laws protecting gender equality, the study finds that these protections are poorly enforced at the local level, while laws that harm women remain in effect. Local courts limit women's representation and reinforce patriarchal systems, ultimately obstructing progress toward equal rights and protections.
Key points
- National gender equality laws are poorly enforced at the local level in Ethiopia
- Laws that oppress women and protect male perpetrators of gender-based violations continue to be enforced
- Local courts limit female representation and uphold patriarchal structures
- Legal pluralism creates gaps between statutory provisions and their implementation
- Understanding how legal systems either empower or oppress populations is crucial for achieving gender equality goals
Limitations
This paper is a qualitative case study analysis rather than an empirical evaluation with quantified outcomes. It does not provide specific data on the scale of harm or the number of cases affected by these legal disparities.
Abstract
To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 for gender equality by 2030, it is crucial for health and development professionals and governmental officials to understand how legal systems empower or oppress populations on the basis of gender worldwide, including opportunities and challenges of statutory provisions created by legal pluralism. Using Ethiopia as a case study, this paper examines how local laws applied in Sharia and Customary Dispute Resolution courts impact gender equality and the health of women and girls inspite of the inculcation of human rights statutes into national legislation, including the Constitution. We identify several key issues with the substantive law and its enforcement. First, laws which have been instituted at the national level to improve gender equally have been poorly enforced at the local level. Second, there is a sustained enforcement of laws that oppress women and that protect male perpetrators of gender-based violations. Third, local courts limit female representation and uphold patriarchy. To improve the health of women and girls, stakeholders must take into consideration the ways in which legal systems uphold harmful gender norms and obstruct and/or advance progress towards equal representation, opportunities, and constitutionally-mandated protections for all.