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Ethiopia

Ethiopian Human Rights and Civic Education Promotion Association

03/02/2006: DanChurchAid's cooperation with Ethiopian Human Rights and Civic Education Promotion Association (EHRCEPA ) dates back to December 2004. EHRCEPA is concentrating its efforts on the realization of fundamental human rights, with a special focus on gender equality and the rights of women/girls to have influence over their own lives.

EHRCEPA works with education, awareness-raising and behavioural change on harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, early marriage and abductions.

Methodologically the organisation makes use of door-to-door approaches (e.g. community conversations), thereby making sure that the women receive information even though they have long working hours and cannot leave their homes easily.

Community conversations are small open groups of 20-30 people attending a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony in their neighbourhood. Coffee and popcorn are used as the means to get participants listening and talking for a couple of hours. To broaden the effort from word to action, EHRCEPA has also established Village Based Human Rights Monitoring Committees, were different violations are reported and discussed with the perpetrators. If no solution or compromise is found, the cases are then taken to the formal judicial system (police and courts).

EHRCEPA has the understanding that development, harmful traditional practices, HIV/AIDS and gender inequalities are strongly linked. Working with EHRCEPA therefore ensures strengthened integration between the different programmes of DanChurchAid in Ethiopia.

Visit website: www.ehrcepa.org.et