Sept. 13, Woldia to Hayk
I was spared any bug bites last night. But we are traveling in a high-malaria area, so I'm grateful for the malarone pills I brought, which have to be taken daily, despite the side effects. Not only do they make you a little nauseated, but they are said to induce bizarre and frightening dreams. Our group has shared some interesting stories about that.
Today we traveled from Woldia to Hayk, where we visited a rural outreach center, set in the foothills, framed by tall trees and low-lying cactuses. We had to walk a bit to get to the place, which is set deep inside the vegetation. Because the rain had deposited large mud puddles, that meant balancing on narrow, makeshift wooden planks. A few in our group were regretting the high heels they'd worn, but for once I'd made the sensible choice in shoes. If you were losing your balance, and reached out to grab something, you came up clutching cactus needles, which stung a few in our group quite badly.
Outside the center, I had a frank conversation with a group of village women who were sitting on the ground waiting to get birth control. All had been subjected to ritual clitoridectomies as babies, typically 40 days after birth. By most accounts, three-fourths or more of Ethiopian women have undergone it.
Most had also had it done to their daughters, but say they would not again. They said sex isn't pleasurable for them -- it's just for men's sake -- but not only because of how their bodies have been altered. The lifestyle and long hours of work don't allow it. And after visiting a house where parents and five children share a bedroom, I can see the obstacles. That also answered my questions about why certain types of birth control, namely long-term methods, are preferable here to diaphragms and pills, which just aren't practical.
Given all this, I was surprised to learn it's common in this community for women and men to have multiple sex partners after marriage. All these women admitted to having done so. But the AIDS epidemic is slowly changing that. A network of community outreach workers in this village has helped raise awareness about the risks of HIV-transmission, female genital cutting and child marriage, and the benefits of family planning.
I also met today with a chapter of the Ethiopian Women's Lawyers Association, which addresses such social ills as child marriage, female genital mutilation and domestic violence by filing court cases. Though genital mutilation is illegal, members haven't prosecuted any cases of it because no one reports it. But this year they handled 94 domestic-violence cases. Most were settled by mediation, but 15 were prosecuted and the majority convicted.
Sometimes the association gets visits from girls who have learned their parents are planning to marry them off as children. It calls police, subpoenas the parents and tells them child marriage is against the law and they could be prosecuted if they proceed.
In school, girls are learning they have options. Unfortunately, few girls are in school past the elementary grades.
Drove to the bustling town of Dessie for the night.
