Ben Preiss
Edit
| Embed Video: |  |
|
Zumra Nuru, a 60-year-old Ethiopian farmer founded Awra Amba, a commune where men and women’s traditional roles and religion have no place. As a child he was sent to work the fields instead of to school and beaten for eating meat at his Christian neighbor’s home. His mother labored more than his father. He was belittled for questioning these practices.  "I was completely captivated by my visit to the community," says Ambassador Tim Clarke, head of the European Union delegation to Ethiopia. "I regard it as the model for the world community on how gender issues should be treated. I have come across nothing else like it anywhere in Africa – and indeed the world. I am using it to inspire the work of my office here on gender mainstreaming and empowerment of women."
Today 96 families live in closely built mud huts. Nuru said more people want to join, but there is not enough space.
(csmonitor)References: csmonitor Filed In: |
