In the past, there had been three different types of parliamentary systems evolved in the constitution of Ethiopia, such as the parliament of Emperor Haileselassie I, the National Shengo of Derg Regime, and the federal parliament of Ethiopia.
The first Ethiopian parliament was opened on November 03, 1931, after Emperor Haileselassie I had proclaimed his first constitution in July 1931. From this period onwards, parliament as a political institution that has been established in Ethiopia even so the practice varied across regimes.
The constitution was introduced with the intention of transforming the country from old and traditional administration to a modern bureaucracy. On top of that, it was also intended to show to the world that Ethiopia was being ruled by a constitutional monarchy. When the constitution was revised in 1955, it was decided that members of the House of Deputies should be elected directly by the people. In consequence, 125 members for chambers of Deputies and 250 members for the Senate were elected. All of them were men. The parliament seemed to have been transformed from advisory status to the legislative body of the imperial government. Besides, standing committees were established to scrutinize issues and present resolutions to the parliament.
Even if a formal parliament was established under Emperor Haileselassie I in 1931, there was no women representation until 1954. Stereotypes, bad customs, and traditions about women contributed a lot to this situation.
In Ethiopian history, women representation in parliament started in 1957. In this year, Sindu Gebru won a parliament seat representing the Gulelie area in Addis Ababa, and she made history by becoming the first woman parliamentarian in Ethiopia. Her subsequent struggle to bring the interest of women to the parliament agenda informs how standing for or descriptive representation was a pre-condition to the substantive representation. Her lonely stay in parliament was not insignificant giver her struggle opened a new political horizon on women representation.
Derg came to power by toppling the Imperial Regime in 1974. The word ‘Derg’ means a committee; whose members were Marxist army officers who come from various military units with ranks below a Major. When the Derg assumed state power on November 12, 1974, it declared itself a Provisional Government and ruled the country without a constitution. When Derg came to power it banned the Imperial parliament and constitution completely until 1987. The assembly of the Derg was a unicameral legislature oriented to socialist principles, based on a one-party system. On September 12, 1974, the Emperor had been removed from power by the Military Regime, known as the Derg. The Derg, having assumed state power, dissolved the parliament and declared the country a socialist state.
The Derg adopted its constitution in line with Marxist-Leninist ideology orientation. The National Assembly (Shengo) proclaimed the Constitution of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) on 12th September 1987 by proclamation No 2/1987. The Shengo had a five-year term and assembled once in a year. The Council of Government would sort out issues to be decided by the National Shengo every year. The National Assemble (Shengo) was formed by representatives elected from 835 constituents (how many of them were women was not known) to serve for a term of five years.
Derg in its constitution of 1987 stated that “women may participate in political, economic, social, and cultural affairs on an equal basis with men.” Though it was stipulated in the constitution, what actually happened was the reverse.
The current Ethiopian political system was put in place following the adoption of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and re-introduced a bicameral parliament. The state system is the federal parliamentary republic headed by the Prime Minister who leads the executive power or the government. The parliament elects the Prime Minister and the FDRE Constitution also introduced a dual government structure – the federal government and the regional states. Currently, there are ten ethnically divided regions – Afar, Gambella, Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, Tigray, Sidama, Oromia, Somali, Harari, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) – and two administrative cities namely Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. All the regional states and two city administrations have second tier of government including regional parliaments.
According to the FDRE Constitution article 53, the nation has two Federal Houses: the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HoPR) and the House of Federation (HoF). These Houses have been established on August 1995. The HoPR is the highest authority of the federal government. Members of the parliament shall be elected from candidates in each constituency by a plurality of the votes cast by the people for a term of five years.
When it comes to women representation in the HoPR, it has gradually increased in a similar way to parliaments of other East African countries. The level of women’s representation in the HoPR of the FDRE grew from 21.4 percent in 2005 to 27.9 percent in the 2010 parliamentary elections. This is a remarkable increase compared to the 1995 and 2000 elections in which women had accounted for only 2.83 percent, (13 out of 547 seats) and 7.7 percent (42 out of 547 seats) respectively. Currently, women hold 212 of 547 seats, which is 38.8 percent in the House of Peoples’ Representatives and 49 of 153 seats which is 32 percent in the House of Federation from the 2015 elections. This improvement leads us to speculate that in the coming 2021 election, though it is still controversial among various parties about the representation, will be enhanced.
There is also a pragmatic change in the number of women’s representation in the executive branch. After the reform in Ethiopia in March 2018, the newly appointed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) filled 50 percent of the cabinet seats with women, and that was 10 women ministers out of 20. Such measure, however, is made possible by the will of the Prime Minister, and is not supported by institutional and legal means to secure the 50 percent positions of the cabinet for women.
Taking the 50 percent of the cabinet positions occupied by women into account, it is difficult to conclude that these women do have the real power to exercise the position in representing women as the current event exemplifies the case. In the recent kidnapping of girls from a university in the Wollega area, women in power did not request their party of government for urgent action in response to the act and they did not show their solidarity as well. The recent study shows that this gap between the increasing number of women in parliament and the parallel inversely lack of capacity and condition to enable women to speak for themselves and others. Hence, it is legitimate to ask what the real impact of women’s political representation is.
At regional states level, women are represented by 50 percent at the councils, although not much by the executive said Abeba Yosef, Chairperson of the Women, Youth and Social Affairs Standing Committee of the House of Peoples’ Representatives.
In her previous interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Abeba stated that the participation of women in politics is good, but it is not enough compared to the total number of women of the country – about 51 percent of the total population.
According to her, the national reform has greatly contributed to the growth of women’s political participation. For the first time in Ethiopian history, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, President of the Federal Supreme Court, Chairperson of the National Election Board of Ethiopia, and Mayor of Addis Ababa City Administration are females, she further said. “In previous years, women were excluded from these positions; they seemed to be reserved for only men,” she noted.
When we come to the lower echelons of government, it is not as it should be, she further indicated.
Scholars reiterate that women’s full and effective political participation is a matter of human rights, inclusive growth and sustainable development. The active participation of women, on equal terms with men, at all levels of decision-making and political involvement is essential to the achievement of equality, sustainable development, peace and democracy and the inclusion of their perspectives and experiences into the decision-making processes, according to a study.
Women more than men tend to: work across party lines, be highly responsive to constituent concerns, help secure lasting peace, encourage citizen confidence in democracy through their own participation, and prioritize health, education, and other key development indicators, including greater responsiveness to the needs of citizens, increased cooperation across party lines and a more sustainable future, according to the report of the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
The participation of women in political decision making positions was recognized as a political right after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Right (UDHR) in 1948.
Source: Women Parliamentarians’ political participation: challenges and opportunities in Ethiopia
The Ethiopian herald June 19/2021
