“You will share my joy at re-entering my capital. Your unceasing efforts and support in the just cause of Ethiopia will never be forgotten by myself or my people.”
Cable from Haile Selassie to Sylvia Pankhurst, 17 May 1941.

1This volume introducing studies on Ethiopian women is a timely and important contribution bringing together scholarship on the multiple roles of women in Ethiopian society. By bringing to light the neglected field of women’s studies in Ethiopia, it attempts to redress the historical, cultural, social, economic and political biases. Ethiopian history had tended to be presented largely as the preserve of male leaders seen through the eyes of mainly male and often foreign authors. Writings about women have largely concentrated on queens and elite women, whereas issues concerning working women and their roles in politics, war, labour, education, health and sports, and the challenges they face in the context of patriarchal society norms and their endurance and achievements have often been neglected. This collective work begins to fill these lacunae, and sets out agendas for further research. It will therefore be a useful resource for academics, teachers and students and can serve as an important catalyst to stimulate graduate studies on Ethiopian women and encourage Ethiopian women themselves to write about their history.

2Organised into nine parts, the volume covers a broad and comprehensive range of topics including religion, politics, war, work, family, education, health and sport. The book’s editor, Margaux Herman, sets the scene in Part One by addressing the challenges of the historiography of women’s studies and gender relations in Ethiopia.

3In Part Two, the author highlights the limitations due to the fact that most sources are written by men and even when women’s and gender issues are raised these are seen primarily from male perspectives. This chapter provides an overview and interpretation of women in mythology starting with our common ancestor Dənqənäš, known globally as Lucy, Makədda, known as the Queen of Sheba, the legendary Queen Yodit/Gudit, and Akko Manoyye, the last ancestral queen of the Guji Oromo.

4Following on from the overview on mythology, the third part comprises three chapters by addressing women and religion in the three main religious traditions, opening the door for a rich field of research which has hardly been explored. The first chapter by Verena Böll on Christianity reveals the role of women from biblical times as worshippers, benefactors, and church builders, but also as saints and martyrs, and as theologians, scholars and authors in their own right. The second by Meron Zeleke and Sylvia Bruzzi on Islam highlights the role of women from the mid-19th century as holy women and scholars particularly in the Sufi traditions with a focus on Harar. The third, by Thomas Osmond, on traditional beliefs explores the relationship of “traditional” religions with Christianity and Islam and focuses on the role of women in Oromo rituals as cult leaders and saints and in promoting peace and social unity.

5Part Four addresses women in politics from historical times to the present through four chapters. The first by Margaux Herman discusses Ethiopian queens from the medieval period onwards, illustrating the role of powerful queens such as Ǝleni, Säblä Wängel, Məntəwwab and Ṭaytu, and reveals their key roles often behind the scenes as advisors to kings, notably in diplomacy and theological affairs. The other three contributions focus on more recent times. Bahru Zewde’s chapter on women in the student movements focuses on the challenges women faced from the 1960s and their struggles for participation and representation notably in study groups, and in the definition of the “woman question” within socialism. The author documents the establishment of a separate women’s organisation led by Marta Mebratu, which was unable to gain full autonomy and the Därg’s co-opting the “woman question,” by establishing the Revolutionary Ethiopian Women’s Association. The third chapter by Gennet Zewide on women’s political participation in the revolutionary period, outlines the history of women’s associations, the role of women in the zämäch’a, Development through Cooperation Campaign and the struggles and endurance of women within and against the Därg regime in the face of male-dominated institutions. The last chapter, by Gennet Zewide and Margaux Herman, reviews constitutional and legal changes since the EPRDF took power, with the 1995 Constitution, the inclusion of gender in development policies and strategies, and women’s involvement in parliaments, leadership positions, elections and political participation including in civil society organisations.

6The fifth part follows on by focusing on women and war, with a chapter by Margaux Herman in which she shows that women played key roles from medieval times and especially during the battle of Adwa and in resistance to the Italian Fascist occupation. Women played key roles motivating warriors, supporting campaigns through provisions and food, as nurses but also as strategists and fighters in the battlefield.

7Part Six, which is on women at work comprises four chapters. The first is by Derese Ayenachew on women in craftsmanship and outlines women’s roles as artisans in pottery and especially spinning, starting with archaeological evidence through medieval times. The author focuses on describing the important role of women in spinning for imperial courts in the 19th century. Samuel Andreas Admasie’s chapter on working class women addresses the crucial role of women in the workforce especially during the 20th century. The author reviews the diverse areas in which women have worked, from the services sector to farms and industries, from businesswomen to household workers. This contribution highlights the gender gaps, discrimination and poor working conditions women face and their involvement in the Ethiopian labour movement’s struggles. Constance Perrin-Joly’s chapter on women and entrepreneurship reviews archival, quantitative and qualitative sources about women as entrepreneurs, pointing out the constraints on women’s success in business and the challenges to their involvement in microcredit and in forming associations. The author calls for further research and case studies of successful businesswomen. The last chapter by Marina de Regt and Shimeles Bonsa Gulema reviews women’s internal and international migration in the imperial, revolutionary, and EPRDF periods, revealing increasing trends and the internationalisation of women’s migration. The authors call for a differentiated approach to understanding varied experiences and the consequences of women’s migration and its impact on how they view themselves, their place in society and their relations with the state.

8The seventh part consists of two chapters on women, family and education. The first one by Habtamu M. Tegegne on women, property and inheritance focuses on the mid-18th century to early 20th century. The author demonstrates that despite patriarchal societal norms, women had greater autonomy than is commonly assumed in owning and passing on property and especially land through inheritance, marriage, bequests, adoption and choosing heirs. The second chapter, by Pierre Guidi, reviews girls’ and women’s education from the end of the 19th century, through missionary and government schools, and the Därg mass education and literacy programmes. This contribution shows how schools can be vehicles for both reinforcing societal gender norms and increasingly questioning them to promote greater participation of women in the economy and society.

9Part Eight addresses women and sports through two contributions. Benoit Gaudin’s review of the rise of women athletes from the mid-20th century, points out the challenges and long struggles Ethiopian women athletes faced in the context of patriarchal gender norms to reach the Olympics and gain international and national recognition. The second contribution, by Tamirat Gebremariam follows on with three detailed biographies of women athletes: Tsigie Gebre Mesih, Derartu Tulu and Merima Denboba, revealing the struggles and endurance through which they achieved success.

10The final part consists of three chapters dealing with women, sexuality and reproductive health. The first, by Marie-Laure Derat and Rahwa M. Weldemichael, deals with female genital mutilation/cutting, outlining the historical background from medieval times to the 21st century, the current discourses and the medical and psychological impact. The authors conclude by reviewing changes in the practice and interventions by government and other actors. They suggest that the participation of girls and other relevant community stakeholders is necessary to end the practice. The second chapter, by Rahwa M. Weldemichael, addresses reproductive health, starting with an outline of the evolution of national reproductive health policies and strategies, and the challenges relating to maternal mortality, abortion, syphilis and HIV/AIDS, and especially child marriage and family planning. The author concludes by suggesting that integrated and decentralised primary health care has played a key role in addressing the challenge of prevailing gender norms and unequal gender relations, which still require further promotion of women’s empowerment over reproductive health decision-making and more equitable gender relations. The last chapter, by Bethlehem Tekola, addresses women in prostitution, outlining the historical context from the 19th century and in urban centres in the 20th century, especially under the Italian occupation. She reviews more recent sociological and anthropological studies and argues for the perspectives based on the women’s views.

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11I am most honoured and humbled to have been invited to write this foreword, especially given my family’s involvement in feminism and studies of women in Ethiopia. My great grandmother Emeline was at the forefront of establishing the women’s movement in the United Kingdom, with her daughters, at the beginning of the 20th century. My grandmother Sylvia became involved in supporting working women’s struggles for emancipation in London. She went on to devote the rest of her life to joining the struggle against the Italian occupation of Ethiopia through her newspaper New Times and Ethiopia News, which was published for twenty years from 1936 and publicised the patriots’ resistance. Having moved to Ethiopia in the last four years of her life, she published Ethiopia Observer, including 15 articles on women and a special issue on women in 1957 (vol. 1, no. 3). This included contributions by prominent Ethiopian women such as Sənəddu Gäbru (ስንዱ ገብሩ), Mary Tadesse and Sophia Desta, as well as by Sylvia herself on three Ethiopian queens, the Ethiopian Women’s Welfare Association and the Women’s Vocational School.

12My father, Richard Pankhurst, wrote about “women’s employment” in the same issue of Ethiopia Observer, and on “Women’s Life and Work” in a subsequent issue (vol. 1, no. 2). He compiled an Anthology of Ethiopian Women in Former Times (1976), and wrote an article on “The role of women in Ethiopian economic, social and cultural life” for the first National Conference of Ethiopian Studies (1990). While his Economic History (1968) does not have specific sections on women, the index has more than thirty entries on women. His Social History (1990) has sections on women in the medieval and Gondär periods and a section on women and gender relations in the 19th century. My mother, Rita Pankhurst, wrote about “Senedu Gabru: a Role Model For Ethiopian Women” in the book edited by Tsehai Berhane-Selassie entitled Gender Issues in Ethiopia (1990). She also wrote about “Ṭaytu’s Foremothers: Queens Ǝleni, Säblä Wängel and Bati Dəl Wämbära” for the 16th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (2009). My sister Helen, carried out her PhD research on women in Northern Šäwa and wrote a book titled Gender Development and Identity: an Ethiopian Study (1992).

13In conclusion, this compilation is a major achievement and a credit to the editor and contributors who deserve to be congratulated for this timely and useful work. It can be hoped that this will stimulate further work by the authors and others to expand on the topics raised and fill gaps in a wide range of subjects that have not been addressed, as the writers themselves point out. There is a need for further work by researchers to broaden the range of subject matters, historical periods and geographical areas covered. Finally, this work, which includes many male and foreign authors, will hopefully encourage more Ethiopian women to write about and reclaim their history.