01/20/2026
Being vulnerable
Our in-depth interviews with women in the two cities with the highest switching in our sample – Dire Dawa in east-central Ethiopia and Hawassa in the southern region – reveal a striking mechanism.
Employment meant commuting through areas where ethnic and, in some cases, ethno-religious tensions were high.
Women told us they felt far more vulnerable on the road than at home, especially if their own ethnicity placed them on the “wrong” side of a local conflict.
Ethiopian women and safety: why some switch their ethnic identity when they start working https://share.google/EW3O4CYHFmBNmXTwP
