MPhil Thesis Final_1 - BIBSYS Brage

114 Pages·2013·4.22 MB·English

The place of children through the lens of generational and
gender relationships in Awra Amba community, northern
Ethiopia

A Master’s Thesis

Abebe Endale Assefa
[email protected]
Norwegian Centre for Child Research (NOSEB),
Faculty of Social Science and Technology Management (SVT),
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

November, 2013
Trondheim, Norway
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ACKNOWLEDGEMEN
First of all, I give honor and praise to God; the provider of life, health, wisdom and
strength. None of these would have been possible without His support. My special gratitude goes
to my thesis supervisor, Associate Professor Tatek Abebe, for his unreserved assistance in giving
helpful comments and relevant materials. The paper would have missed useful inputs had it not
been for his constructive advices and guidance.
I would also like to extend my heartily felt appreciation and thanks to my friend Dr
Taddesse Jaleta Jirata, whose invaluable comments enriched the study. Without his close
supervision, encouragement, and provision of relevant materials, the thesis would not have been
realized.
I am very grateful to the study participants who had devoted their precious time in
sharing their astonishing life experiences. My special gratitude goes to Zumra Nuru for the
extraordinary efforts and sacrifices he made in creating such an amazing utopian community. I
am also very much grateful to the guest welcoming committee and the whole community
members of Awra Amba for treating me so nicely during my stay with them. I would also like to
thank the passenger whom I met in the minibus on my way to Awra Amba for his enormous
helps.
My Special thanks go to NOSEB, NTNU and Lånekassen for giving me the opportunity
to take part in the study. I am also very much grateful to my beloved wife Tigist Bamlaku for her
understanding and patience in taking care of our dearest daughter Emely in my absence despite
all the challenges. Finally, I would like to express my deep appreciation to all who gave me a
helping hand while undertaking this study.
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ABSTRACT
This study explores the place of children through the lenses of generational and gender
relationships in Awra Amba community, Northern Ethiopia. It discusses what children’s life
from gender and generational perspective look like in Awra Amba community. The study is
based on the following research questions. What are the social values and roles of children in the
community? What does gender relationship among children and between children and adults
look like in Awra Amba community? What is “special” about children of Awra Amba
Community? To document the place of children through answering these questions, the study
employs qualitative research methods such as in-depth interview, focus group discussion
observation, informal dialogue and home visit. These qualitative methods were used as the issue
to be explored needed a complex and detailed understanding. In other words, the research project
was qualitative in its nature because the researcher needed an intricate and thorough
understanding of the issue. Children whose age ranges from12-15 years and their parents (both
mothers and fathers) whose age ranges from 32-40 and 48-72 respectively including the founder
and the leader of the community, Zumra Nuru, were included in the study as participants
(research subjects). The study is informed by social constructivism through viewing children’s
place and childhood among the Awura Amba community from discursive construction, structural
construction, generational construction and children as social actors perspectives. The study
observes children’s place among the community from three angles: gender equality, social order
and intergenerational relationships. It argues that children are active participants in activation
and perpetuation of gender equity, social order and egalitarian intergenerational relationships.
Such perspectives of children indicate that children are well aware of the collective values
among the community and are exercising them as part of their everyday lives.
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Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMEN ................................................................................................................................ i
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................... ii
List of tables ........................................................................................................................................... vi
List of figures .......................................................................................................................................... vi
Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
1.1. The Research topic and reasons for choosing it ............................................................................. 1
1.2. Aims of the research project ......................................................................................................... 3
1.3. Research questions ....................................................................................................................... 4
1.4. Organization of the thesis ............................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER TWO: BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE STUDY AREA ........................................................ 5
2.1. Major Economic Activities ............................................................................................................. 7
2.2. Rivers and Lakes ........................................................................................................................... 7
2.3. Livestock, Fauna and Minerals ...................................................................................................... 8
2.4. Tourism and Heritage.................................................................................................................... 8
2.5. Economic Activities ..................................................................................................................... 20
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 25
3.1. Nature of the study ..................................................................................................................... 25
3.2. Study design ............................................................................................................................... 25
3.3. Access and challenges ................................................................................................................. 26
3.4. Establishing rapport .................................................................................................................... 33
3.5. The study participants ................................................................................................................. 35
3.6. Eligibility/inclusion criteria .......................................................................................................... 36
3.7. Sample size ................................................................................................................................. 36
3.8. Sampling methods ...................................................................................................................... 36
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3.9. Methods used for data collection ................................................................................................ 37
3.9.1. In-depth interview................................................................................................................ 37
3.9.2. Focus group discussion ......................................................................................................... 38
3.9.3. Observation ......................................................................................................................... 40
3.9.4. Informal dialogue ................................................................................................................. 41
3.9.5. Home visit ............................................................................................................................ 43
3.10. Data analysis plan ..................................................................................................................... 44
3.11. Ethical considerations ............................................................................................................... 45
3.11.1. Informed consent ............................................................................................................... 46
3.11.2. Reciprocity ......................................................................................................................... 46
3.12. Leaving the fieldwork ................................................................................................................ 48
CHAPTER FOUR: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS ......................................................... 50
4.1. Childhood Studies in Ethiopia ...................................................................................................... 50
4.2. Children’s Place in a Society ........................................................................................................ 53
4.3. The Social Construction of Childhood .......................................................................................... 57
4.3.1 Discursive Construction of Childhood .................................................................................... 57
4.3.2. Structural Construction of Childhood ................................................................................... 59
4.3.3. Generational Construction of Childhood............................................................................... 62
4.3.4. Children as Social Actors ...................................................................................................... 63
4.4. Children’s rights Perspective ....................................................................................................... 65
CHAPTER FIVE: CHILDREN AND THE EGALITARIAN SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP AMONG THE AWRA AMBA
COMMUNITY ......................................................................................................................................... 71
5.1. Children and Socialization among the Awra Amba community .................................................... 71
5.2. Children`s belief in equality among all human beings .................................................................. 73
5.3. Children`s social Roles in Awra Amba community ....................................................................... 77
5.4. Children’s Position in Social Forums ............................................................................................ 78
CHAPTER SIX: CHILDREN AND GENDER EQUALITY AMONG THE AWRA AMBA COMMUNITY .................. 84
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6.1. Gender Equality as Social Order .................................................................................................. 84
6.2. Equality in Social Roles ................................................................................................................ 86
6.3. Equality in Social Positions .......................................................................................................... 88
CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................ 95
References ............................................................................................................................................ 99
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List of tables
Table 1: Population distributions of Awra Amba Community. ............................................................... 13
Table 2: Brief demographic information of the study participants. ......................................................... 35
List of figures
Figure 1: Map of the study area as developed by Getu Demek Alene (Alene, 2011) ................................. 9
Figure 2: Zumra Nuru, Founder and leader of the Awra Amba Community. ........................................... 11
Figure 3: Children working at household sphere for income generation. ................................................. 20
Figure 4: Guesthouse/hostel of the Awra Amba community. .................................................................. 22
Figure 5: Children listening to their recorded discussions after the FGD................................................. 39
Figure 6: Children of both sexes playing together. ................................................................................. 91
Figure 7: Children at the village’s kindergarten. ..................................................................................... 93
Acronyms
AAESRO Action Aids Ethiopia Semen Region Office
ADA Amhara Development Association
ACRWC African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
ANRSCTB Amhara National Regional State Culture and Tourism Bureau
CSA Central Statistical Agency
FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
DERG Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial
Army that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987
NGO Non Governmental Organization
UNCRC United Nation Convention on the Rights of a Child
UN United Nation
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, I briefly discuss the topic of the research project, the reasons that
triggered me for choosing the topic and also the study area, aims of the research project, and the
research questions.
1.1. The Research topic and reasons for choosing it
Studies show that little is known about Ethiopian children and childhood (Abebe, 2008,
Poluha, 2007). This is most probably due to the fact that children, as earlier women, mainly have
been conceptualized as dependents, and that their thoughts, ideas and acts were not expected to
have an impact on the society at large. Neither was it thought that knowledge about children
could inform the workings of the society in which they live (Poluha, 2007).
According to Abebe (2008), the limited research that had been carried out in Ethiopia
focuses on children who are believed to have been suffering from particular social and economic
disadvantages like HIV/AIDS, poverty and neglect. However, this study explores the place of
children through the lenses of generational and gender relationships in Awra Amba community,
Northern Ethiopia.
Sara James (1990), in her article “is there a ‘place’ for children in Geography?”, argues
that the topic has been largely ignored because of the indisputable and intrinsic difficulties
associated with the study of children and their ' natural ' and humanly created environments.
According to Poluha, children need to be studied in their own right for adults to learn about how
they think, what priorities they make and what they consider important. However, children
should also be studied because they are social beings, their living conditions can teach us about
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the dominant ideology, norms and economy that prevail in the society in which they live
(Poluha, 2007).
I had many reasons for choosing this topic. The first and the most important reason was
that this community is unique among other communities in Ethiopia in promoting and ensuring
gender equality and working towards alleviating poverty. In Ethiopia, for years and still now,
patriarchal system has been deep rooted in almost all societies, both in urban centres and in rural
areas.
The system encourages male dominance in making important decisions for and on behalf
of children and women. The interest of children and women is not considered and their voices
are also not heard. What the adult male says, no matter whether he is right or wrong, should be
done. But, this is not the case in Awra Amba community, where I researched for this master’s
thesis project.
A person, whom I call as “unschooled philosopher”, having a brave heart that always
sought justice, and challenged injustices and inequalities, emerged and created a community of
his own vision which is free of violence, free of work division, free of institutionalized religion,
free of gender inequalities and patriarchy. “He can't read or write, but Zumra Nuru created a
society that would have made Karl Marx proud”, says (Halpern, 2007:1).
I always wondered how this community could emerge in that remote and largely isolated
area where there were not basic facilities and infrastructures like road, electricity, television,
telephone, and others. Not only this but also the community is surrounded by a very conservative
and fanatic religious (Orthodox Christians and Muslims) Amhara society.
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The Amhara society strongly believes in male dominance neglecting and disempowering
women and children. The emergence of the Awra Amba community in this highly conservative,
religious, patriarchal and authoritarian society/region is something incredible and beyond
imagination for me. These and other reasons really made me to decide to make this study in this
uniquely and/or extra ordinarily egalitarian community which Joumard (2010:1) refers to as “an
Ethiopian utopia”.
It had been my dream to visit and study this community since I was undergraduate
student. But now my dream came true and I was so excited to get to know this community and
study the new form of child-adult relationships that has taken shaped since 1972.
1.2. Aims of the research project
The research explores the place of children through the lens of generational and gender
relationships between children and adults in Awra Amba community, Northern Ethiopia. More
specifically, the aims of the project are as follows:
1. To explore children’s life from gender and generational perspective in Awra Amba
community
2. To explore the social values and roles of children in the community
3. To explore gender relationship among children and between children and adults in the
community
4. To find out what is “special” about children of Awra Amba community
5. To document the sites of gender relations in everyday life in Awra Amba community