U N I T 3

Equality
By the end of this unit, students will be able to: of our enshrined equality, there is
discrimination due to customary
l distinguish the right for equality and equity of the
practices, gender, history and other
Ethiopian nations, nationalities and peoples.
causes. Thus, special support does not
l explain the right for equality and equity of physically contradict the constitution. Rather it
impaired people. ensures the right for equality and equity
in a practical way.
l understand that men and women are equal under
all circumstances.
Activity 1
3.1 The Right to Equality and Answer the following questions based on the
Equity above discussion:
1. Do you support the arguments of Heramo or
l What are the advantages for the Ethiopian
Furne? Explain your choice.
Nations, Nationalities and peoples to live
2. In different articles of the constitution it is
together in equality?
enshrined that women, less-developed regions
and physically impaired persons need special
The discussion between
support. How do you see this in comparison
Furne and Heramo with the right for equality?
The constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic
of Ethiopia declared the equality of all citizens The right for equality means the exercise of human
without any discrimination. On the other hand, there rights without any pre-conditions. It also involves
are proclamations which state that special support the respecting of individual and group democratic
will be given for formerly disadvantaged groups of rights fully as enshrined in the constitution. The
the society. Federal constitution clearly states the human and
Two grade seven students named Furne and democratic rights that must be respected for every
Heramo debated this issue as follows: citizen.
Heramo: That the constitution recognized the The entitlement of every citizen to the same
equality of all citizens. Hence, giving rights, opportunities, privileges and protection is
special support to some and denying an indicator of the practice of the right for equity.
others contradicts to this principle of Equal treatment of everyone before the law and
the constitution. equal opportunities to make use of the resources
Furne: Special support does not contradict the of the country are practical expressions of the right
constitutional principle of the equality for equity. The FDRE constitution has declared the
of all citizens. Because, regardless political, social and cultural rights of individuals and

Civics and Ethical Education — Grade 7 Student Textbook n 21

Equality
groups as well as Nations, Nationalities and peoples be organized under our own zonal administration’’.
in detail. This implies that the right to equity is This is because we are living in federal democratic
guaranteed in the country. system. Moreover, we are given the right to self-
administration by the constitution. But another
Activity 2 member of the council put his opinion forward
saying “Would not it be difficult for you to live
Answer the following questions: with others if you established new zone? What if
1. To what extent is the right to equality being the people in your locality tried to attack you for
exercised in your locality? some reasons?”
2. Read article 25 of the Ethiopian constitution The other representative of the Hesse in the
carefully and explain what is meant by the council, Ato Husen, made a counter argument
right for equality? saying “The right of nations and nationalities for
3. Explain the importance of respecting the right self-administration is the peoples’ right. When this
for equity. right of peoples at different levels is respected they
cannot become enemies rather they prefer to live
3.1.1 Equality of Nations, Nationalities together in cooperation. Thus, we shall not fear that
and Peoples, and Manifestations we may face enemies when we exercise our right for
of the Right for Equity self-administration.”
Another representative of the Hesse people,
Ato Bushkara, argued saying, “Right now our
people are exercising the right to self-determination
through their representatives. Our people are also
governing themselves through councils at Kebele,
Woreda, Zone, and Regional levels. Besides that they
are represented in the Federal House of Federation.
For example, if you take our Woreda, our own people
administer it. There, it is the popularly elected
Woreda Council that exercises the highest political
power. However, the issue for our people today is
just distribution of social services and other physical
Picture 3.1. Ethiopian nations, nationalities and peoples infrastructures. To bring fast development in our
l What do you understand from picture 3.1? locality we need a just distribution of schools, human
and animal health-care centres, telephone service
l What is meant by “Ethiopia is a museum of
etc. Moreover, we need a road that connects us to
peoples?” market centre’s. For these all to be effected, we need
The Hesse people the placement of trained manpower in our locality.
Besides, educational and training opportunities have
The Hesse people live in a given Zonal administration. to be opened for our children, who would serve as
They have their own culture, history, language etc. in our own language.”
They are widely distributed in three woredas of the After the debate the regional council and
zone. The Hesse people requested the right to self- delegates of the Federal government, accepted the
administration. They presented their request to the request of the Hesse people for the fair distribution
regional council through their representatives. One of social services. Moreover, they believed that the
of the representatives called W/ro Hawade said “To peoples’ capacity to exercise self-government more
bring fast development in our locality, we have to effectively and efficiently should be encouraged.

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Equality
Activity 3 The languages, history and other cultural aspects
of the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia
Discuss the following questions based on the were neglected during the previous regions of the
previous story: country. As a result the development and peace of
1. What are the advantages of the right for self- the country was seriously affected. Moreover, the
administration of nations, nationalities and identities of the peoples were degraded. Many citizens
peoples for the Hesse people? were made victims of violation of rights by the
non-democratic regimes. The “Red Terror”— mass
2. How was the request for the self-administration
killing that took place during the Derg regime is a
of the Hesse people enforced?
good example of this.
3. List the rights that must be respected to enable
There are more than 80 nations, nationalities
the Hesse people to live together in cooperation
peoples, and languages in Ethiopia. According
with other nations, nationalities and peoples.
to the FDRE constitution all of them are equal.
Equal respect for the rights of nations, nationalities
The rights of nations, nationalities and peoples are
and peoples and their languages is essential for
major aspects of in the constitution. Among these rights,
sustainable peace and fast growth and development
the right to self-administration including secession, is
in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural society.
one. The nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia
established the federal state through their agreement
on the importance of equality. To achieve this they Activity 5
have adopted the constitution as a common binding
Answer the following questions:
covenant.
1. List the advantages of respecting fully the rights
In addition to self-administration, nations, nation-
of nations, nationalities and peoples.
alities and peoples are proportionally represented in
the Federal House of Peoples representatives in the 2. What are the disadvantages of not respecting
House of Federation. This is another manifestation these rights?
of the right to self-determination and equality. 3. In groups interview your history teacher or
refer to books about the horrible mass killing of
Activity 4 the Red Terror and explain the results to your
classmate.
Answer the following questions:
1. What are the advantages of self-administration
3.3 Gender Equality
for nations, nationalities and peoples?
2. Explain how the rights of equality and equity 3.3.1 The Women’s Right to
of nations, nationalities and peoples are
Equality
respected?

3.2 The Importance of Respecting

the Equality of Language and
Other Cultural Aspects of
Nations, Nationalities and
Peoples
Picture 3.2. A man and a woman conducting research
l What do you think are the situations that could l What do you understand from the above
lead to chaos and instability in a country? picture?

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Equality
Once a panel discussion was conducted under Women are equal with men in every respect.
the title “There are great women behind successful The Ethiopian constitution ensures this in marriage,
works”. The essence of the discussion was published family life, property utilization, job opportunities
in the newspaper Adis Zemen. The opinions of three and other rights.
speakers are briefly presented as follows:
Speaker 1: Women are causes for skills, talents Women can work, create and lead just as a man
of the world. Even though we get can do.
little publicity we women are behind
every success. We have been walking
with men. We are walking with them Activity 7
now.
Discuss the following questions:
Speaker 2: It is unquestionable that women
have the capacity and potential to 1. What is your opinion regarding the statement
achieve great things. They have that says women have equal mental capacity
shown their successfulness at national with men?
and international levels. Especially 2. What is expected from every one of you
nowadays, the ability of women is regarding your attitude to women?
becoming more and more obvious.
Policies and laws that have been enacted 3.3.2 Examples of Equal Rights for
are narrowing the gap between men Women
and women. In order to release their
own capacity and potential women l Give some examples of equal rights for
need to have vision. To develop this women.
and change themselves, they need
ways to enhance their skills. The Abduction
Speaker 3: A great woman is modest and loyal. A young man called Berhanu Gedeno residing in a
Who know her mission (vision) and is
given Woreda wanted to marry a beautiful girl in
prepared to make sacrifices to achieve
his locality. He sent elders to ask for her parents
her objectives.
permission. The parents first showed readiness to
(Source: Adapted from Addis Zemen Megabit 13, 2000
accept the request, but later, when their daughter
page 13)
persuaded them that she would prefer to continue
her education rather than to marry, they changed
Activity 6 their minds. They made it clear to the elders that
they did not accept the request. However, Berhanu
Answer the following questions:
ignored their decision and, with five of his friends,
1. How do you understand the statement “Women he abducted the girl. The case was followed up by the
are the cause for skills, talents of this world”?
police and Berhanu and his collaborates were soon
Explain.
arrested. After carrying out their investigation the
2. Do you think that successful development is police transferred the case to the public prosecutor.
possible without the equal participation of
The prosecutor accused Berhanu of the crime of
women? Explain your answer.
abduction before the court. Then the court passed
3. Can you give example of women who have a sentence of 15 years imprisonment on Berhanu. It
done great things in your locality? Tell your
also punished his collaborators for being a part in
classmates.
the crime.

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Activity 8 3.4 The Rights of the Disabled
Discuss the following questions based on the
People
previous case:
1. What do you understand from the case?
2. Is the judgement against Berhanu appropriate?
Why?
3. What kinds of advice could a civics and ethical
education teacher give to a student who came to
talk to her about the danger of abduction which
she was facing?
4. What do you think should be done to answer
that ‘the right of women to education’ are not be
hindered by harmful customary practices?

In the past, many customary practices

undermining the right for equality of women have Picture 3.3. Disabled people
prevailed in our country. Even though there have engaged in different activities
been some improvements, it must be understood l What do you understand from the above
that more effort is needed to solve the problem. Even
pictures?
today there are customary practices and procedures
that undermine women, challenge their right to Little Zula
make their own decisions and leave them under
Zula is a 12 years old boy who lives with his mother.
domination. Therefore, it is the responsibility of
all citizens to work for equal rights for women by He lost his father early in his childhood. His friends
protesting against backward outlooks and practices. prefer to call him by his nick name “little Zula”,
which was given to him by his mother because of
If you educate the women, you educate the his small size.
whole society. When Zula was a grade one student, he was
kidnapped by a passer by on his way home. Those
According to the Ethiopian constitution women who had kidnapped him blinded him and made
have equal rights for marriage, owning property, him a beggar after taking him far away. He had to
getting equal payment for work and other rights. Also give the money he collected by begging in villages
they have full right to be protected from, harmful and at churches to his masters. Life became difficult
customary practices, unfair laws and traditions. for him, so, one day, he ran away from his masters
and with the help of kind people, he returned to his
Activity 9 mother’s home. When they met, he found his mother
Answer the following questions: sick with grief and living hand to mouth.
1. Describe the situations in which women are However, without being frustrated by the
equal with men. problems he faced and regardless of the miserable
2. Mention harmful practices and proverbs with life of his mother, Zula decided to continue his
meanings which undermine women in your education. However, the nearby school rejected his
locality. request for enrollment.
3. Explain what is expected of you to prevent Zula communicated with a local NGO working
harmful practices against women. on the rights of disabled people. The organization

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Equality
promised him that it would do its best for him by their own families. For example, their families
so that he could be enrolled in the school. So, in may deny them access to school and hide them at
collaboration with the local education office, the home.
NGO arranged for him to be admitted to school. By Discriminating against disabled people and
facing all these challenges with determination, Zula isolating them from social interaction has a negative
today is continuing his education. effect on the family and the nation, because it
wastes their potential. This in turn ignores a large
Activity 10 productive force, slows national development, and
causes poverty.
Answer the following questions based on the
In general, failing to respect the right to work of
above story:
disabled people results in complex problems for a
1. Explain the challenges that “little Zula’’ faced country and its people. Thus, the family and society
in his life and education. must give appropriate support to disabled people.
2. How far do you think that the NGO, which
helped Zula to continue his education, fulfilled Activity 11
its role? Answer the following questions:
3. Why do you think the school changed its 1. What problems could result from not respecting
decision not to enroll Zula? the social and economic rights of disabled
4. How should you help disabled people in your people?
locality? 2. Explain the types of support that should be
given to disabled people.
The rights of disabled people must be respected
3. What could be your role and responsibility in
like those of other citizens and they must be given
respecting the rights of disabled people?
enough special support. The government is expected
to take care of disabled people, to rehabilitate and 4. Explain the advantages of respecting the rights
to help them, as much as possible. Disabled people of disabled people.
whose rights are respected can then contribute to
the development of nations. 3.5 The Advantages of Respecting
Religious Equality
3.4.1 The Impacts of not Respecting the
Rights of Disabled People l What are the advantages of respecting
l What are the impacts of not properly respecting religious equality?
the rights of disabled people? Respecting the right for religious equality in
a country strengthens the democratic system,
Disabled people, like any other human beings,
encourages peace and fast growth and development.
have full human dignity and can become productive
When their right to follow a religion of their choice
in any aspect of life. Even though some social
is respected, citizens become patriotic—their love
changes are taking place in our country, prejudice
and devotion to their country increases. They will
and discrimination against disabled people has not
make an unreserved effort for the development and
been fully eradicated.
well-being of their nation.
Disabled people with low awareness associate
According to this right, every person has the
with curses and evil fate. Therefore, disabled people
right to preach and attract followers of his religion
are exposed to economic problems and social
in a peaceful manner. Moreover, forced conversion
discrimination. Some of them are even mistreated

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(change of religion) is against the right to freedom Activity 12
of religion and against the constitutional principles
of the country. This in turn endangers peaceful co- Discuss the following questions:
existence and confidence among the people. 1. What are the advantages of the freedom for
Respecting the right for religious equality is everyone to follow a religion of his/her own
important for the development and prosperity of choice?
a country. The equality of all religions before the
2. Explain the situations under which the freedom
law means peaceful co-existence, cooperation for
common interest, unity on the basis of equality of religion is limited according to the Ethiopian
and the development of the common values of the constitution.
society. The FDRE constitution states that every 3. What do you think about the statement which
person can follow a religion of his choice, and it says that “Formal educational institutions
is forbidden to limit a person’s religious freedom shall be free from the influence of religious
by force or by any other means. Nonetheless, teaching”?
Art-27(5) and Art-19 (2) state the situations under
4. Mention the advantages of respecting the right
which freedom of religion can be limited. According
of religious equality.
to these articles freedom of religion can be limited
when a religious practice is against public health or 5. What problems could happen in situations
morality and when it is against the rights of other where the right of religious equality is not
citizens. respected?

Summary
The human and democratic rights of people shall be Women are equal with men in all aspects of
fully respected. Nations, nationalities and peoples will rights. Women are not lesser than men in their
all have equal rights. When their rights are respected, mental capacity. They can work, learn, and lead life
they will get a fair share of the country’s resources. The in the same way as men do. Respecting the rights
FDRE constitution establishes the rights for equality of women and struggling against backward and
of nations, nationalities and peoples. Accordingly wrong attitudes is essential for the country and its
their right for self-administration including secession generation.
is fully respected. It is apparent that in past political Respecting the rights of disabled people is very
systems some nations, nationalities and peoples advantageous, because, if their rights are respected,
were marginalized and undermined. But now, they can play as great a role in the development
their equality in religion, culture, history and other of their nation as any other person can do. Thus,
manifestation is constitutionally recognized. This the family, the society and the government should
will have major significance for the development strengthen their care and support for disabled
and prosperity of the nation. people.

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Equality

Key Words
Popular sovereignty: This is the supremacy of the people in which they become the ultimate source
of political power. According to the Ethiopian constitution, the Ethiopian
Nations, Nationalities and Peoples are invested with popular sovereignty and
ultimate political power resides in them
Vision: Refers to one’s life objective which one aims at and will strive to achieve as
a goal
Judgment: Legal or court decision
Master: One who takes control over somebody in his/her residence and livelihood
Collaborator: A person or persons who cooperate with someone in committing a crime

Unit Review Exercises

Do these review exercises in your exercise book.

I. Write “True” if the statement is correct and write “False” if the statement is
incorrect
1. The Ethiopia FDRE constitution is one of the documents in which the right for equality is practically
enshrined.
2. Among the rights for equality stated in the Ethiopian constitution, the rights of equality of nations, nationalities
and peoples is the basic one.
3. Our country has been prosperous in the past because the cultures and languages of the peoples have been
respected in the countries past history.
4. The role of women is less important than that of men in the development efforts of Ethiopia.
5. Mental and physical impairment is caused by evil fate or curse.

II. Match words or phrases under column ‘A’ with correct items of column ‘B’
A B
1. The right for self-administration A. Common responsibility of government and people
2. The Red Terror B. Harmful and backward practices
3. Abduction and early marriage C. Popular sovereignty
4. Taking care of disabled people D. Horrible mass killing of citizens (genocide)
E. Minority rule

III. Copy the following questions on your exercise book and fill the correct answer on
the space provided
1. Ethiopia is said to be ____________ peoples.
2. __________ is the document in which the equality of all Ethiopians is recognized.

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IV. Choose the correct answer for the following questions
1. Which one of the following is not the right to equality?
(a) Human rights
(b) Democratic rights in the constitution
(c) Equitable share of the nation’s resource
(d) Superiority of one over the other.
2. Which one of the following is not included in the rights of nations, nationalities and peoples?
(a) Sovereign power of self-administration
(b) Fair representation in the House of Peoples Representatives and House of Federation
(c) Degrading and undermining other’s culture and language
(d) Mutual co-existence, tolerance and unity.
3. Which of the following is an aspect of life that shows that women are equal with men?
(a) Marriage and family life
(b) Labour division and property utilization
(c) Transfer and inheritance of ownership
(d) All are correct.
4. Identify wrong statements about women’s capacity and potential
(a) All great works are only done by men
(b) Women have equal capacity in decision-making and leadership with men
(c) They have the right to get equal payment for equal work
(d) Women are not lesser than men in their intellectual capacity.

V. Give short answers for the following questions

1. Explain the importance respecting the right for equality.
2. Explain what is meant by the statement, “There will be no development without the participation of
women.”
3. Explain how society must protect and care for disabled people.

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