A STUDY ON DYNAMICS IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ASPECT OF WOMEN AMONG KONSO, SOUTH WESTERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract Like any other Ethiopian society, Konso is a Patrarchical society in which all socio-political organizations are men dominated. Even though women are contributing and participating into to economic activities like craft work, smiting, pottering and other farm works, their participate in other socio-political activities of the society is very lower and also have no meaningful role both in the traditional and formal political organizations. Despite this longstanding tradition, it appears that there are slight changes in their way of life currently. Thus, it is based this past trends, and currents changes that the study addressed the dynamics in socio-economic and political aspects of women among the Konso people. In doing so, ethnographic field work was conducted from July, 2018 up May, 2019 among the Konso of Southwest Ethiopia to assess the dynamics in the socio-economic and political aspect of women, and secondary data were collected from different sources. Accordingly, study found that women’s are not taking part in traditional administration system. Whereas, there are also slight changes have been seen in terms of participating women in modern administration system in the form of Kebele leadership, woreda administrations and also at zonal level. Beside, the study also found that, compared with the past where Women do not have the right to own property among Konso, slight changes by different organizations and governmental interventions have been made, and women started indirect property ownership and make a business currently . Finally, the study recommends that changing the aspect of women needs combined effort, intervention and support from both government and non-governmental organization in the form of economic assistance, political and social empowerment and awareness creation.