World Bank calls for change in attitude towards women

The president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, has urged Ethiopians to change their attitudes towards women, saying the plight of women in the Horn of Africa country needed to be addressed through empowerment. "I think the violence against women is a national disgrace and I think opportunities for women need to be enriched considerably," Wolfensohn told a news conference on Sunday in the capital, Addis Ababa, at the end of a four-day visit. According to UNICEF, Ethiopian women often bear the brunt of poverty, poor health care and lack of education. Only six out of 10 females are literate, while less than six percent can expect to receive skilled help during childbirth. Currently, one-fifth more boys than girls attend school, while seven out of 10 women have also been victims of female genital mutilation. "I think this country is hugely behind in terms of empowerment of women," Wolfensohn added. "It is crazy to try and develop the country without half the population and when they do all the work, beat them up." The Ethiopian government has introduced tough laws to protect women against rape and abduction, which are prevalent in many parts of the country. "It is not going to be carried through unless there is a societal change," Wolfensohn said. "Women will be too scared to take advantage of laws that are on the books particularly if they can be divorced and left with nothing." Saying it would take 25 years to turnaround Ethiopia from an impoverished nation, the bank president however added that "first rate" economic policies had been put in place by the government to foster growth. "Turning a country around from a level of real disintegration is a very hard thing to do," Wolfensohn said at the end of a four-day visit to Ethiopia during which he met Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the cabinet. "My own opinion is that this government is now on an absolutely first rate path to growth. "I don’t think you turn around a country of 70 million people with a US$100 per capita income in two minutes," Wolfensohn continued. "I think you are talking significant advances within the next three to five years. But this is a 25-year slog, but I have not seen a better plan in sub-Saharan Africa." The Australian-born banker, who has held the presidency of the bank for almost 10 years, was in Ethiopia to address a United Nations conference on good governance.