The modern Tigray conflict, which began on November 4, 2020, is largely centered on ethnic tensions between Tigrayans and other regional ethnic groups in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Ethiopian government is allied with the neighboring country of Eritrea and together they are at war with the northern region of Tigray and its regional government, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

In 2018, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed replaced a former coalition of ethnic groups with a new one, angering the TPLF (Council on Foreign Relations). The TPLF saw this as an attempt by Ahmed to consolidate power at the expense of Tigray which resulted in the escalation of these tensions into an armed conflict when the TPLF sieged an Ethiopian military base.

Tigray has suffered brutal violence at the hands of the Ethiopian government and its allies over the course of this conflict. Countless human rights violations have been committed in the region including but not limited to “killings & extra-judicial executions, torture, sexual & gender-based violence, violations against refugees, forced displacement and hate speech” (UN Human Rights 2021). The women are especially vulnerable to acts of sexual violence which leave many displaced, impoverished, or dead. The international community understands the conflict in Tigray to be a worsening humanitarian crisis and calls for justice. Recently, the Ethiopian government and its forces have blocked international aid from reaching Tigrayans, exasperating issues of food insecurity, lack of medical care, etc. (BBC).

To learn more about the response of the international community check out the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security's "The Crisis in Tigray: Women & Girls Under Violent Assault."

Who are the key actors in this conflict?

We want to further investigate the cultural context that the Tigrayan conflict is inextricably linked to. There are several cultural context points and traditional practices outlined in “The Prevalence of Gender-based Violence and Harmful Traditional Practices against Women in the Tigray Region, Ethiopia" that provides insight into the power dynamics that impact the Tigrayan conflict.

In the study, Gebre et al. studied the results of a series of surveys on community values, and practices that provide a cultural landscape for the conflict. Early marriage, marital rape, and exclusion of women from community politics are all norms in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian survey of women across regions reported that 48.7% of the respondents married below the age of 18 and 17.5% of respondents married below the age of 15. Fifty-nine point five percent of married respondents did not choose their partner on their own as dowry is the predominant courtship system across Ethiopia. The dowry system is "regarded as the finest way of ensuring the married woman's well-being" (61). The dowry system has problematic implications as it operates on the notion that women are a burden to the husband that must he be compensated for and it belittles women by treating them like property that is to be handled in a financial interaction. Gebre found 29 traditional practices that are harmful to women in the Tigray specifically. Apart from early marriage, wife inheritance, marriage by abduction, exclusion from politics, exclusion from job markets, prohibition of nutritious foods, exclusion of unmarried women, and genital mutilation are significant issues women and young girls face. The most community supported practices are opposing women from choosing their own partner (71% supported in Tigray) and exclusion from community/politics (77% supported in Tigray). Practices like these rob women and young girls of their agency and independence, and act as barriers to gender mainstreaming in their local institutions.

It’s important to note that Ethiopia has a Gender Inequality Index value of .5, ranking 121st out of 160 countries in 2017 (Gebre). In the home, men control the wealth and decision-making. Outside of the home, women face isolation and a lack of resources. Intimate partner violence is common in Ethiopia with husbands being the most likely prepetrator of gender based violence. The most common form of intimate partner violence is verbal abuse. The second most likely perpetrator of gender based violence are armed officials (policemen, guards, soldiers). With the increase of violence and presense of armed officials in the Tigrayan region, violence in the home and outside of the home has increased. Gebre reports that almost 20% of the threats against women using a weapon in the Tigrayan region are prepretrated by armed individuals in the community. This creates an environment in which women and young girls cannot escape violence as it takes place in their home and outside of it.

Additionally, there are cultural norms and values that directly and indirectly perpetuate sexual shame onto Tigrayan women. The primary example of this are the high rates of genital mutilation. Genital mutlilation is valued in the community because it is believed to increase a girl's marriage opportunities, "to make her decent"(69), and to preserve her virginity. Genital multilation perpetuates sexual shame onto women because it equates a woman's worth with her purity, not her character.

These insights and others provide context on why women and girls are suffering in this conflict.