Journal of Economics and Development Studies

Women`S Position in Household Decision Making and Violence in Marriage: The Case of North Gondar Zone, Northwest Ethiopia
Tsega Hagos, Tinsae Berihun, Abebe Assefa, Gashaw Andarge

Abstract
Introduction: In many developing countries, women have low decision-making power; and domestic violence remained pervasive and a serious human right violation. In Ethiopia, femininity remains an indicator of major disadvantage. The country is ranked 127th out of 142 countries (15th from the bottom) indicating large gender disparities. Thus, this study was aimed to assess women`s position in household decision making and domestic violence in North Gondar Zone, northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional community-based household survey was conducted in April 2016. A Sample of 500 married women was selected by using multistage sampling technique. The data were entered into Epi-Info 3.5.1 and transferred to SPSS 20 for analysis. Results: Around fifty percent of the sampled women reported that their husbands decide in their stead. Besides, more than 50% of the respondents replied as they usually get into forced sex (54.1%); always threatened by different objects (65.9%) and their husbands always beat them (53.8%). Women`s education, motivation, and involvement in business were found positively significant determinants for women`s household decision-making status. Conclusion: The household decision making position of women was found very low especially in major decisions. In similar vein, domestic violence is highly prevalent in the study area.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jeds.v5n4a5