UNIT FOUR

MARGINALIZED, MINORITIES, AND

VULNERABLE GROUPS
4.1 Definition of concepts
What is marginalization?
o treating a person or social group as minor, insignificant
or peripheral.
It Involves Exclusion of:
 certain groups from social interactions; e.g. marriage,
sharing food & drinks, & working and living together
 certain groups from basic economic rights:- rights to
property ownership & to be engaged in certain
economic activities of jobs.
The mostly marginalized?
o women, children, older people & people WD are among
marginalized groups across the world
o religious, ethnic, racial & occupational minorities; e.g.
crafts-workers are affected groups in d/t societies and
cultures.
Vulnerability?
o is the state of being exposed to physical or emotional
injuries
o Vulnerability &Vulnerable groups
VG are people exposed to possibilities of attack, harms/
mistreatment.
eg. girls & women are vulnerable to GBV-harassment, rape
& forced marriage:-adolescent/teenage pregnancy-
reproductive health problems-fistula-isolation
Minority groups
o refers to a small group of people within a community,
region, or country.
o they are d/t from the majority in terms of race, religion,
ethnicity & language
Forms of marginalization
o There are d/t forms of marginalization.
o e.g. that violate the rights and wellbeing of girls,
women (GBV), older persons & minority social groups
A) Gender-based marginalization (GBM),
o marginalization of person/people or groups based on
their gender e.g. girls and women
o stereotyping & discrimination of gender that arises
from cultural values, norms, & beliefs than biological
differences
NB: gender stereotypes:- strongly held views about the
characteristics of males and females.
o GBM is global problem and involves exclusion of girls
& women from a wide range of opportunities & social
services
e.g. women don’t own and inherit family resources
GBM and HTPs
o there are some customary practices that affect the health
and wellbeing of girls and women(HTPs)
e.g. FGM/C & child marriage
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C)
o a form of gender-based violence
o more than 200 million women and girls alive today have
undergone
o more than 3 million girls are at risk of FGM/C every
year (Shell-Duncan, etal, 2016).
o FGM/C is practiced in 28 countries in Africa
o very high in some (women aged 15-49 yrs) 98% in
Somalia and Kenya 21% (UNFPA & UNICEF, 2017).
The prevalence of FGM/C in Ethiopia
o is lower than the prevalence in Somalia but higher than
the prevalence in Kenya and Senegal
o 65% of girls and women in the 15 to 49 years age
category are circumcised in Ethiopia (UNFPA &
UNICEF, 2017).
o the prevalence of FGM/C in girls and women aged 15-
49 years has been declining from 80% in 2005 to 65%
in 2016.
o the practice has been declining significantly among
girls under 15 years (CSA & ICF 2016).
Figure: Prevalence of FGM/C among women aged 15-49 years in Ethiopia by region
Key drivers of FGM/C
1. Belief in impurity: uncircumcised women are impure, thus,
pollutes that followed by misfortunes e.g. health problems,
infertility,(Getaneh 2016).
2. Discouraging promiscuity: uncut girls/women have
high sexual desire & affect marriage & increases the
rate of divorce
3. Preserving virginity: value attached to virginity is very
strong: norms prohibit premarital sex and pregnancy
4. Fear of ill-manner: FGM/C means of moderating the
behavior of girls and women.
5. Social sanctions: parents & girls abandoning FGM/C
punished, ridiculed, insulted & isolated-considered as
violated social norms
4.3 Marginalized occupational groups
o tanners, potters, weavers & ironsmiths are marginalized
occupational minorities in Ethiopia
o are considered as impure, thus, excluded from social
interactions, ownership of resources, participation in
community-based associations
o are considered inferior & marginalized from wide areas
of social interactions and economic activities.
Types and manifestations of marginalization of craft-workers
Type of
marginalizati Manifestations of marginalization
on
Spatial  Craft-workers settle/live on the outskirts of villages, near to forests, on poor land,
marginalization
around steep slopes.
 They are segregated at market places (they sell their goods at the outskirts of
markets).
 When they walk along the road, they are expected to give way for others and walk
on the lower side of the road.
Economic  Craft-workers are excluded from certain economic activities including production
marginalization
and exchanges. In some cultures they are not allowed to cultivate crops.
 They have a limited access to land and land ownership
Social  Craft-workers are excluded from intermarriage, they do not share burial places with
marginalizatio others; they are excluded from membership of associations such as iddirs.
n
 When marginalized groups are allowed to participate in social events, they must sit
on the floor separately-sometimes outside the house or near the door.
Cultural is manifested in negative stereotyping such as:
marginalization
 Occupational minorities are labelled as impure and polluting; they are accused of
eating animals that have died without being slaughtered;
 Occupational minorities are also considered unreliable, lacking morality, respect
and shame.
4.4 Age-based vulnerability
o exposure of people to d/t attacks, harm & mistreatment
b/c of their age-emotional & physical injuries
e.g. children & older people (people aged 60 and above)
4.4.1 Children: Discrimination and vulnerability
o boys & girls are exposed to some harm & abuse in the
hands of older people b/c of their age
Child marriage:
o marriage which involves girls below the age of 18
o is an illegal practice according to the Criminal Code of
Ethiopia
o expose girls to various harms; hinder personal dev’t,
sexual abuse, can’t give their consent & severe
reproductive health problem
Factors that encourage child marriage
Social norms
o protecting girls from pre-marital sex & pregnancy,
value attached to virginity & girls reputation & family
social status avoid social exclusion
Economic factors
o In many areas of Ethiopia marriage provides economic
security for young girls
o parents support child marriage for economic benefits
such as access to land other resources
4.4.2 Marginalization of older persons
o marginalization of adults with the age of 60 and above
o older are facing various problems as a result of
modernization, globalization, and urbanization.
o older are marginalized b/c they are considered as social
burden rather than social assets
NB: Ageism is a widely observed social problem in the
world
Ageism: refers stereotyping, prejudice, & discrimination
against people based on their age
4.5. Religious and ethnic minorities
o Religious & ethnic minorities also face different forms of
marginalization
The Jewish
o suffered from discrimination & persecution in d/t parts of
the world
o 6 mln Jewish were killed-Holocaust-Adolf Hitler
Muslim Rohingyas of Nyanmar
o the most ill-treated and persecuted refugee groups (Abdu
Hasnat Milton et al, 2017),
o half-a-million fled from their homes in to neighboring
countries such as Bangladesh
o were vulnerable to malnutrition & physical and sexual
abuse