Male and female members of the Awra Amba social group, South Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State, take turns in cooking, baking, weaving, baby sitting and performing other activities in and out of the house. They carry out these activities by waving aside long-entrenched cultural and religious norms, which forbid working on the various religious holidays. Unlike other neighbouring communities that look down on blacksmith and potters, Awra Amba members give great respect to the workmanship of these social groups recognizing them as development agents. In other communities, people with craftsmanship are normally marginalized as unclean and inferior to other social groups.
But Awra Amba members ensure that every member, young or old, male or female, learn to read and write. They discipline their little ones to respect and serve all people. They are also unique in that they don't spend time or resources on ceremonies like wedding and/or funeral of loved ones.
ActionAid Ethiopia supported a study on the Awra Amba social group with the intention to:
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Initiate their social integration with neighbouring communities who targeted them as social deviant and opponents
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Replicate their working habit and other beneficial cultures among the wider communities in and out of Amhara state
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Look into ways of improving their livelihood.
"As a kid I observed how my mother had a heavier workload than my father. Both spent the day equally toiling in the fields. My father's tasks ended up right in the fields while my mother continued working until late in the evening. Her job at home started with washing my father's feet soon after they reached home. Then she served supper and had a lot more to do later. As to my father, he had but to recline and relax," recounted 55 years old Zumra.
"My mother woke up long before it was dawn and started to mill grains. My father never helped her. He rather slept until late in the morning. I questioned why things should go this way but nobody had the answer. I kept on inquiring into these and other unacceptable practices for which no one had the answers."
This led Zumra to initiate the Awra Amba community where nowadays gender inequality or discrimination, harmful traditional practices and beliefs are but talks of the past.
