This article aims to rekindle the debate on the politics of aid in the increasingly common – yet still under-studied – authoritarian and low-intensity conflict settings, detailing the case of Ethiopia in 2016, when a 50-year drought coincided with a wave of protests and a state of emergency. During four months of qualitative fieldwork in 2017, state, civil society, Ethiopian and international actors were approached – from humanitarian headquarters to communities in the Amhara, Oromiya and Somali regions. Research participants relayed stark discrepancies between the humanitarian theatre's ‘frontstage’, where disaster responders showcase an exemplary response, and its ‘backstage’, where they remove their frontstage masks and reflect on the information, the decision-making monopoly of the state and the intrusion of conflict dynamics into the humanitarian response. In humanitarian research and in policy, a collective conversation is necessary on where to draw the line between respect for governments’ sovereignty and the intrusion of humanitarian principles.
Domestic workers are one of the most vulnerable groups of workers. In Ethiopia, however, the vulnerability, legal protection, and work conditions of female domestic workers are not well-documented and researched. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the vulnerability, legal protection, and work conditions of female domestic workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional qualitative research design was employed using in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. The study participants were 15 domestic workers, three officials from the Office of Labor and Social Affairs, and five brokers of domestic workers. Findings indicate that female domestic workers experienced abuse in various forms including verbal or psychological abuse, physical abuse, and sexual assault. Female domestic workers in the study area had few or no labor rights or protection. They rarely had clear contractual relations, worked long hours for low pay, and had little or no privacy. There is neither a proper state institution to promote the rights of domestic workers nor a strong viable movement among or on behalf of domestic workers. Hence, a relevant legislative framework developed by the city and national governments, and strong advocacy efforts to expose their working conditions are needed to improve the work conditions of female domestic workers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.