Ethiopians Seeking Birth Control: Caught Between Church And State : Goats and Soda : NPR

Ethiopians Seeking Birth Control: Caught Between Church And State

DECEMBER 30, 201411:36 AM ET

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  Worshippers stream through downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, toward Bole Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) Cathedral, the largest Orthodox church in Africa.
  Allison Shelley for NPR
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  Participants sing during a wedding ceremony at Bole Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It's Africa's largest Orthodox church, and its message on contraceptive devices is clear: not permitted.
  Allison Shelley/Allison Shelley for NPR
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  A woman waits for a family planning consultation at the Family Guidance Association's Model Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinic in Addis Adaba. She's wearing a necklace that displays a symbol of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
  Allison Shelley for NPR
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  Worshippers pause before entering Bole Medhane Alem Cathedral.
  Allison Shelley for NPR
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  A couple walks by billboards advertising family planning methods in Addis Ababa.
  Allison Shelley for NPR

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  Allison Shelley for NPR
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  Allison Shelley/Allison Shelley for NPR
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  Allison Shelley for NPR
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  Allison Shelley for NPR
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  Allison Shelley for NPR

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• 
  Worshippers stream through downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, toward Bole Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) Cathedral, the largest Orthodox church in Africa.
  Allison Shelley for NPR
• 
  Participants sing during a wedding ceremony at Bole Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It's Africa's largest Orthodox church, and its message on contraceptive devices is clear: not permitted.
  Allison Shelley/Allison Shelley for NPR
• 
  A woman waits for a family planning consultation at the Family Guidance Association's Model Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinic in Addis Adaba. She's wearing a necklace that displays a symbol of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
  Allison Shelley for NPR
• 
  Worshippers pause before entering Bole Medhane Alem Cathedral.
  Allison Shelley for NPR
• 
  A couple walks by billboards advertising family planning methods in Addis Ababa.
  Allison Shelley for NPR

Her head draped with thin white fabric in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, Konjit walked to the stately entrance to the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa. But the soft-spoken 26-year-old did not go inside to pray because of her "sin." Days before, she had had an abortion; she had become pregnant after her birth control failed.

Like many women in Ethiopia, Konjit felt caught between two powerful forces when making decisions about reproductive health: the church and the state [note: we are using only her first name to protect her privacy].

The Ethiopian Orthodox church, established in the 4th century, officially prohibits any form of contraception that interferes with a woman's hormones, including pills, implants, intrauterine devices and shots. So the implant she got that week is definitely not sanctioned.

Abba Gebere Mariyam Welde Samuel, a 35-year-old priest at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, explained, "The Bible doesn't allow the use of pills." The only form of birth control the priests recommend is the natural method — abstaining from sex on Orthodox feast days — there can be up to 250 in a year — and when women are fertile.

And the church has a mighty reach: 43 percent of the 91.7 million Ethiopians are adherents.

Yet the number of Ethiopian women using hormonal birth control has steadily increased, from 8 percent in 2000 to 29 percent in 2014. This trend attests to the power of the government.

The ministry of health put a priority on family planning in recent years, investing in a decade-old community health worker program, and increasing funds for family planning. Foreign aid followed; Ethiopia was the largest recipient of family planning assistance in sub-Saharan Africa since 2000. The global health world, which convened in Addis Ababa in November 2013 for an international family planning conference, celebrated Ethiopia as a model of success.

"We are lucky with that we don't have a strong opposition from the religious institutions," Minister of Health Dr. Kesetebirhan Admasu said in an interview.

That's not totally accurate. Many, though not all, Orthodox leaders express opposition to the family planning programs. But in authoritarian, one-party Ethiopia, the church can't really openly oppose the state.

"They wouldn't go against the government," said a public health NGO worker, who spoke on background. "Not unless it was something really serious."

When pressed, Admasu described a "kind of gentleman's agreement we have with the church leaders."

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Admasu explained that even though the church can't directly advocate against government policies, it can promote alternatives. So in the struggle against AIDS, the church could not stop government promotion of condoms but did push for abstinence. As for birth control, the church pushes natural methods rather than preaching against hormonal contraception.

"There are so many things we cannot challenge," said the Rev. Daniel Seifemichael, a theology professor at Holy Trinity College in Addis Ababa.

So the church works through its own channels, advising congregants directly and through sermons that while managing the family and providing for children is important, the permissible way to limit births is through natural means.

Women like Konjit hear two voices: the Orthodox preaching against birth control methods like her contraceptive implant and public health messages on the radio proclaiming that family planning is better for her family's health and finances.

The conflict between the church and the state policies on contraception was enough to make her feel guilty but not enough to change her mind.

As her two boisterous kids ran around the churchyard, Konjit expressed her determination that they stay in school longer than she did — she dropped out after sixth grade. And she described the challenge of supporting a family on her taxi driver husband's meager earnings.

While she was able to reconcile her faith with her choice, she had not reconciled with her husband. He did not know she chose the abortion; she told him she had a miscarriage. Nor does he know that she was using birth control. He wants her to have more children. "We would get divorced if he knew," she said. "He needs lots of children."

But neither the church nor her husband's wishes have changed her stance. Her shy smile belied a firm resolve. "We shouldn't have too many children in the world if we can't support them."

Allyn Gaestel and Allison Shelley reported from Senegal with support from the International Reporting Project.

British security guard faces death penalty in Ethiopia after being found guilty of terrorism offences - Africa - World - The Independent

Ali Adorus claims he was targeted by MI5 over alleged links to Islamic extremism before leaving Britain, and that a 'confession' was was beaten out of him in prison

ROBERT VERKAIK

Tuesday 30 December 2014

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A British man who claims he was tortured in an Ethiopian prison is facing the death penalty after being found guilty of terrorism offences.

Ali Adorus, a security guard from east London, was subjected to electrocution, hooding and beatings during his 18-month imprisonment in the East African country, according to allegations made against Ethiopia and Britain to the United Nations High Commission.

Before leaving Britain to visit family in Ethiopia in 2012, Mr Adorus had complained that he had been targeted by MI5 and the Metropolitan Police over alleged links to Islamic extremism.

His lawyers also allege that some information contained in a false confession – which he claims was beaten out of him in an Ethiopian prison – could have been provided only by “British intelligence”.

Mr Adorus, who has a wife and child in the UK, was found guilty by the Ethiopian courts earlier this month but is now facing the death penalty.

Today, his wife, who is being supported by the human-rights group Cage, described the court process as “shockingly biased and unfair”.

She said: “The Ethiopian court does not even operate according to its own laws. It has refused to acknowledge the torture my husband endured. My husband’s testimony was dismissed by the court, as were the testimonies of the defence witnesses who were witnesses to the torture. The prosecution witnesses were bribed, threatened and some tortured to give false evidence against my husband.”

The Independent has seen  a report written by the British embassy in Addis Ababa  and sent to the Ethiopian government which raises the UK’s “grave concern” about his detention.

The document, written by officials at the embassy, names the Ethiopian senior police officer alleged to have carried out the torture. It says: “The British Government takes all allegations of torture of British nationals very seriously. The treatment alleged is prohibited under international human-rights treaties.”

The report adds that the failure of the Ethiopian authorities to inform the embassy  of his detention is of “grave concern to the British Government”. It says that he alleges he has been “handcuffed for long periods”, was “hooded and then beaten” and “was electrocuted”.

Mr Adorus’s barrister in the UK, Toby Cadman, said that the conviction was “deeply troubling”. He claimed that the authorities had used “beatings and electric shocks to extract his confession” and said Ethiopia “must immediately start proceedings with  a view to an investigation being commissioned”.

Mr Adorus, who was born in Ethiopia before coming to the UK as a young boy, was arrested in January 2013 on a bus during a family visit, and taken to a police station without any access to a lawyer. During his custody, he signed a forced confession in Amharic – a language he does not speak – after four days of beatings, he alleges.

He is accused by the Ethiopians of being a member of a number of terrorist groups and of waging a jihadist war since 2006. But his lawyers say the case against him is fabricated and have petitioned the United Nations, which is now considering the complaint. A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We can confirm the detention of a British national in Ethiopia. We are providing consular assistance.”

Mr Adorus has a history of testicular cancer and was being monitored regularly in London. He and two friends had previously complained that they had been questioned by police and MI5 after returning from a safari holiday in Tanzania in 2009.

Asim Qureshi, a research director at Cage, which campaigns against abuses associated with the war on terror, said: “The case of Ali Adorus is yet another example of a British citizen who was harassed by UK security services and who ends up arbitrarily detained and tortured in a third country. The UK has failed to protect him from torture.”

Last year, Andrew Parker, the head of MI5, said: “We do not participate, incite, encourage or condone mistreatment or torture.”

But the complaint to the UN states: “It is alleged that intelligence officials provided direct and/or indirect assistance to the Ethiopian authorities in carrying out the arrest and torture of Mr Adorus.”