Introduction

Women face disproportionate marginalization, which results in broad-ranging restrictions on their full and effective participation in society. This marginalization is further aggravated by cultural, social, structural, and legal barriers that hinder their access to justice. Therefore, this article will address the right of women to access justice in Ethiopia and the challenges and limitations they face in accessing justice.

The Right to Access Justice under International Instruments

The guarantee of access to justice arises primarily by virtue of provisions guaranteeing the right to a fair hearing, equality before the law, the right to liberty and security of the person, in particular the right to challenge the legality of detention, the right to an effective remedy, and the right to a speedy trial. The right to effective access to justice is considered an effective element of economic, social, and cultural rights under the ICESCR and UNCRPD Article 13recognizes the right to access justice for persons with disabilities

The Right to Access to Justice in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has signed different international human rights instruments recognizing women’s right to access to justice. The FDRE constitution also recognizes the right of everyone to benefit from proper access to justice. Yet in reality, women often lack access to justice, which could be attributed to many challenges, i.e., legal and practical gaps, as provided below.

Challenges to Women’s right to access justice in Ethiopia

Throughout history, we have observed a constant exclusion of women’s concerns from national policies and legislation, and it’s only recently that states started to recognize the rights of women after the adoption of human rights instruments through the instrumentality of the United Nations. Even though there are laws protecting women’s access to justice at international, Regional  and national level, violence and discrimination against women has continued to be rendered invisible and making the rights a reality has remained difficult and  their right to access to justice is violated due to the historical background of cultural  influence  they accept all problem which affects their human rights without disclosing and defending for her  right to access to justice and there is lack of legal awareness on their right where to go, how to claim and defend their right,  lack of control and administration of their common property, free work without payment, economic  problem to hire a private attorney, and to cover legal cost and GBV  on women in the  home, in school, in work place.

Conclusion

The right to access justice is a fundamental human right in itself and an essential means to protect against human rights violations. Therefore, the women’s right to access justice problem in Ethiopia needs attention and implementation as per international instruments.