By Daniel “Skiff” Skiffington | The Mocha Club
The streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia bustle with activity during the day. Shoppers crowd markets, taxi cabs dash across busy streets and Arabian-style music booms from office towers. For the most part, Addis seems to be an ordinary city. But as the sun sets, remaining illusions of normalcy disappear. Young girls, some between the ages of 12 and 15, line city streets in hopes of finding a customer or two for the night.
What makes Addis different than cities in the U.S. with prostitution problems? The answer lies in the statistics. More than 150,000 women walk the streets each night. Many charge $1 per trick, making them accessible to both Ethiopians and those on business from the West. In many ways, prostitution here is a result of poverty. Unemployment is over 50 percent. Ask a woman to leave the streets and she might go months, years or even decades without work.
Through a partnership with an organization called Women at Risk, Mocha Club supports those wanting to leave the life of being a prostitute or “sex worker.” The idea is simple: befriend women and encourage them to live a better life. The actual process is much more complicated. Through the dedication of local staff members and volunteers, Women At Risk’s goal is to get these women off the streets, counsel them, and equip them with job training so they are empowered to support themselves and their children in a new way, encouraging them to leave behind the life of prostitution forever. We’ll spend the next week with the organization and the people it helps. Stay tuned.
(The Mocha Club Experience: Starting November 1, 2009, Seattle Pacific University recent graduates Daniel “Skiff” Skiffington and Charlie “Char” Beck visit all of Mocha Club’s current projects in 7 countries and take Mocha Club supporters and friends on a three-month virtual adventure to experience real life in Africa.)
25 thoughts on “Prostitution plagues Ethiopia’s capital”
Prostitution,aids,poverty are all woyane tools to eliminate or weaken his “enemies” i.e. Amharas and Oromos. Do you think there will be allowed on the streets of Makalle?
I did visit Mekelle in 1997 and there were so many of them from all over Ethiopia. This is not a problem of Addis only, it is in all cities of Ethiopia. To add to this problem, now we have male(gay) prostitues that walk the streets. No body wants to talk about it but it is rampant. I was told by a good friend who lived in Piazza area that gays were known to be present in kebele 16 and the area. According to him the problem started during megistu’s regime but it is getting really catastrophic during Meles’s regime. Now are the customers of this prostitutes? Ethiopian diasporra, Arabs and other foreigners, Married Ethiopian men and single guys. This is a deep rooted problem. What are we going to do about it? Most of us will continue to use their services as it has been the case since I was born and even before. We really need to have a change of attitude because it has become a norm even for the well to do women as it has become an easy venue to achieve promotion or access to more money and power.
Prostitution is encouraged by TPLF because otherwise the restless youth will have better things to think about. What better thing to think about than getting rid of the evil that is TPLF?
Don’t blame everything on Woyane, even before they come to power prostitution already become a major problem in Ethiopia that the fact. I don’t like Wayane adminstration but the fact need to be said.
Ethiopia is losing it’s cultural diginity and going down in history. What are the so called religious leaders doing in our country when their/our children are going out for such a shame business.Since the modern democracy is spoiling our cultures,let us take our traditional way of living which has kept us for centuries.
May the good lord save Ethiopia from the hands of the criminal selfish Weyane. Ethiopians please rise up for your people to free them from the prison of scam of the earth. Kids with no hope for future are resorting to such horrible act to make ends meet. This truly saddens me and I have no word to describe it except vent my furostration.
It is a sad fact to see prostitutes all over the streets of Addis Ababa in the night. Most of them are forced by poverty and unemployment to take on this work.Recently their number has increased to alarming level.The prostitutes do their work in chilly nights, even some of them are not legal age of 18. The woyane government does seem it doesn’t bother about these volunerable our sisters.
እነዚህ’ኮ እናንተ ለራሳችሁ Parking Lot እና Gas Station በመስራት ገንዘብ አለን ብላችሁ አባልጋችሁና አጉል ተስፋ ሰጥታችሁ አንጠባጥባችሁ ትታችኋቸው በመሄዳችሁ ነው መንገድ ላይ የቀሩት::
Welcome to the real world.
Why don’t they decriminalize it? I think the prostitutes (both female and male)walk the streets of Addis at night because of fear of the police. There is a stiff penalty (imprisonment and/or fine) if caught soliciting the service. I guess customers also have problem. They roam the streets under the cover of darkness for both legal (they can be imprisoned and/or fined too)and socio – cultural reasons.
But should people care if someone gets laid or banged in exchange for money? Religious and moral cleanliness should not be the business of the government. They should be left to clerics and their temples. There are other places where we need the government to act. One such case is corruption. We hear that even prostitutes (both female and male) avoid criminal charges if they pay in kind. I mean the sexual service.
The government is unable to generate a economy that can employ the majority of its population. Until such time it can do so, it should legalize prostitution, check the health status of those in the business, give them a registration document or license, recognize the existing red districts and enhance their infrastructure and tax the professionals and their customers. I am stunned by the number mentioned. 150, 000 of them bustling in the streets of the capital alone and another 100, 000 in the streets of Maakkaalee – the second capital – and another 5, 000, 000 in the rest cities and towns. 1$ per trick is too cheap. Maybe the government should set a higher tariff. In any case, that comes to a lot of money, man. After all, we beg for money from everybody willing to give. But, think how our people will react to a school or clinic opened with tax collected from prostitutes. They will boycott them.
This is the reason why they will boycott them. Our country is still in stone age in these matters. Some years ago, there was a revision of the criminal code. We were shocked to read that the country’s Women Lawyers Association asked death sentence for homosexual. These are fervent feminists but with no idea about gay rights. They are like men in skirts. To possess pornographic material (DVD, journals) is still a very serious punishable crime. Recently, a man was sentenced to life in prison in Addis for killing a U.S. citizen whom he said wanted a homosexual relation with him. At one stage, the head judge who saw the case asked what the hell he (the charged whom he sentenced to life) was doing with such a man.
I will withdraw my suggestion to tax prostitutes because, I believe, schools and clinics built by money from taxing prostitutes will be boycotted. If that is to happen – which I believe will – money will be a wasted. Prostitutes also need the money than the government. So allow them to keep it. But, legalize the profession, license it and supervise health.
Please tell the prostitutes to organize and stand for their rights. Tell them not to give the male prostitutes position in the association. They are spoilers.
Cheers.
Mike
Don’t be advocator of woyannes any ways.
Prostitution is encouraged and aggravated by the minority regime in Addis.
Fathers and mothers of these girls should show submission and loyality to woyannes otherwise in the name of Gemgema they are going to get fired from their jobs. What do you think the fate of their children is going to be. Think.
first of all thanks for ethiopianreview bring all kinds of social problem our country face today .this is what media suppose to do.next prostitution is not ethiopan problem .even in usa like nevada you have to have license and can prostiute ,so weyane isn’t created or invented .it has been since man live in civilized life. but the important point should be how to save our sisters for this evil life way.i read some comments then idon’t agree most of you such as blame in weyane or diaspora left them etc. instead of blaming each other why don’t we do something help,teach,organize and give regular job.
It is all a chain reaction. Yes, prostitution has always been there during Mengistu but that is not the point because 2 wrongs don’t make any thing right. We all know that poverty, unemployment and lucks of education are the basis for this tragic human acts. That is why it is a chain reaction. if the government, in this case the Melese gangs, don’t act right in managing resources and distribute to the good of society instead of piling up their own pocket by diverting the very resource that are fundamental for the growth of society then of course we will have underlining human problems. That is why the government is directly or indirectly responsible for the failure of the people.
This is one of the multifaceted ways of TPLf annihilating the Amharas, Oromos and other non Tigrian Ethiopian Races.
TPLF can massacre a whole race as it did to Annuak and Oroma people or it can kill with out any impunity. It imprisons the Amaharas anytime when it wishes, and this one Prostitution is also another way of eradicating a race.
Can we afford to sit and look when many non Tigrian races are wiped out from Ethiopia? What is all this Cyber shouting with out real shootings? We have to match fire with fire. That is all there is. It is a fantasy to think Ethiopians can win any political victory with out having a strong and formidable army.
Stop dreaming. TPLF listens and understands only to FIRE.
Hi all’
It is shame that the government is doingnothing to prevent it. If they think that they need to keep and are determined to continue with that government officials at leeast need to keep them in red light Districts. That way people know who is who.
But Eliase at least you could have covered the lady’s eyes to protect her!
First of all you need to know that during Mengistu Administration, You can not take a girl to hotel period. Now,the problem lies with this new anti Ethiopian administration. They are only focused on looting the country and educating their own. So how do million of none favored Ethiopians get a job or even a hope for that matter ? I don’t know! The only way is to get rid of this phony Govt in Adds and established a new one. Then we can control what goes on in our country . A lot of Cadres are sleeping with 12 , 13 , 14 and 15 years old minors and there is no law to prosecute them . I think that speaks volume by itself. As long as our country is under foreign ruler , we will suffer more and will go down in history in shame!
while living at the Hilton during the fall of ’92 it was very disheartening to see the women every evening on nearly every street around. it’s a shame to hear this seems to have worsened. The city govt should step in here, start local.
Prostitution used to be prohibited during the Derg regime, then Ethiopian women had some dignity, poor but they did have dignity. Under the current regime Ethiopian women are exposed to the elements of unbelievable poverty plus additional constant abuse and skyrocketing food price has made prostitution unacceptably high. It’s a cultural matter, under the current regime prostitution is cultural and normal income generating occupation, hence the high number is reflective of the culture.
What is prostitution and what is not?
To my understanding of the full meaning of prostitution, coming to power by force like Muhammad the false prophet and Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) is prostitution. Misappropriating the tax payers’ money and using it to one’s own benefits is prostitution. Sending people to jail without a fair trial or sentencing them to life in jail or to death is prostitution. Robbing the Church by selling its historical artifacts for a great profit is prostitution. Unseating the legally appointed Patriarch and replacing him by unholy man is prostitution. Worshiping other gods rather than Jesus Christ, the true Son of God, is prostitution. Worshiping God by having sex in the house of God is prostitution. Stealing people’s ballots during the election time is prostitution. Telling a lie that there is no famine in Ethiopia while millions of Ethiopians are suffering from starvation and diseases is prostitution. Going to an international meeting, representing one’s own people and later betraying the people of one’s own continent is prostitution.
On the contrary, having sex with a single woman who is not married and who is not part of goddess worship where prostitution is part of or one of the requirements of the worship is not sin.
During the New Testament times, the Corinthian gods had over 1000 prostitutes paid with public money, and the duties of these prostitutes were to gratify men engaged in the worship of their fertility gods.
The contrast here is that the Addis Ababa prostitutes are not supported by the public fund in order to prostitute and meet the sexual demands of some of the citizens of Addis Ababa rather than the prostitutes pay taxes to the Woyanne government so that they can stay in prostitution business throughout their lives.
The great beneficiaries here from the prostitution businesses are not the prostitutes who work day and night but the Woyanne government that encourages them to continue their businesses and promising to some of them that Meles or his wife Jezebel would give them a chance to go the Arab-Muslim world and work there and send money from there to Ethiopia.
These poor Ethiopian prostitutes, for all the dirty work they do, don’t even have health insurance, and the Woyanne government doesn’t care whether they practice safe sex or risky sex. These beautiful boys and girls of Addis Ababa die in hundreds every year because of sexually transmitted diseases, and no one cares about their untimely deaths. The only thing people of Addis Ababa would say is, “stsheremooth motech,” which means she died while she was prostituting.
Who are the prostitutes in Addis Ababa or in some other cities of Ethiopia?
Generally speaking, the poor are the main prostitutes: the taxi drivers, the students, the unemployed, the factory workers, the shopkeepers, the carpenters, the barbers, the elementary, the secondary, the University teachers, the soldiers, the housekeepers, the dellalas (dealers), the benders, the witchcrafts, and to some extent, (and it is very rare) some clergies, some Imams, and some rabbis; however, the rich, like Meles Seitanawi and Al Amoudi never prostitute, and they don’t have to since they simply keep some concubines in their inner sanctum of their houses as their house keepers but during the darkness, they are their sex partners. Their wives know why these concubines are for in their houses, and there is nothing they can do except Azeb calling her husband “shermutha,” which means adulterous. Privately, the wives can put their husbands in awkward positions in engaging themselves with some of their husbands’ close friends romantically.
Therefore, anything done privately in the Menelik II palace or in the Al Amoudi villa is not considered prostitution or sin because most of yechewa lijoch do such things all the time, but anything the poor man does in the street or in the brothel is very visible to the government and punishable perhaps by few years in jail. But in the eyes of God, every act done in a palace or in a motel or hotel or under ground or in the depth of the Ocean is visible; nothing escapes from God unnoticed.
Any way, the boys and the girls of the Ethiopian cities and towns will continue to roam the streets of Addis Ababa and other cities for sexual indulgences during the night times when the sun settles down and the darkness of the night takes over. There is no St. Paul who can sincerely advise them: “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (2nd Corinthians 6:9-10)
The ancient Israelites do not consider prostitution sin or illegal; only the Levites were not allowed to marry a prostitute; however, selling boys for prostitutes and girls for wine is considered sin: “They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine that they might drink.” (Joel 3:3) Is that what Meles Seitanawi and his Wife Jezebel are doing to the Ethiopian boys and girls – selling them to the Arab Muslims for prostitutes for a great profit?
Weyne i can’t believe that we have reached this state!that makes me feel so sad!May God save us all!is it true that there is boys prostitutions in Ethiopia?????
The goverment should be blame because i have been traveling through out the country and prostitution is a usual thing the worst place is in moyale where the price or the amount to be paid is set by the goverment official. Shame on the government
For the benefit of the entire Ethiopian nation, somebody should “clip” Meles once and for all. Once he is removed from power an Amhara president should assume power so that the majority of Ethiopians are represented. After all, amaharic is the official language of Ethiopia, as should the president be of Amharic descent. Additionally, the root causes of the internal problems throughout Ethiopia should be addressed and corrected to stabilize the morale of the people and eradicate the epidemic levels of poverty and malnutrition. May God be with Ethiopia
amhara ppl are poor in their minde when they have no enough money they go for easy money.woyane has nothing to do with b1tch amharas.so go and hung your self woyane haters.thanks to woyane our country is much better than the stupid king minilik and Slasei.)Long live Zenawi
Prositution can be reduced by providing alternative source of income.Educate UR ppls. Give them Vocational Training. Train UR manpower. Develop UR resources. If the ppls. in power R corrupt and inapt. incomptant and do not know what they R doing , no planning, no predictable results. Than There is a Big, Big, Big, problem.
Just make it criminalized, Meles does not care about Ethiopia and will happily exploit the people for his and his TPLF’s ass, takes money from people when they work hard for it.
Who r u guies? I think the aclamed ‘diasporars’ of our time? As far as my knowledge goes there is no tax or taxation system in Ethiopia that targets prostituts. Don’t get me wrong I hate Woyane, but z only thing we can accues of woyane is negligence, atleast in this matter! U r living in a country which produces 87% of the world pornography, an estimeted of 3000 brand new porn movies released each year! With an increasing Voyerism that instigated the 3 bill$ gain by the industry in 2011 alone. And yet u talk about social norm and ‘going down in history..’ What do u expect from a country which can’t even feed 74 mill people in a YEARLY bases? This is not America or UK, gov’t don’t care neither the people! Ofcourse what do u know, u live same where else but u still comment on an article that presents u with a persenalized view of things, so frikin hesterical!!