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![]() Eritrea - Turning swords into ploughshares?
![]() The metal market in Asmara turns war scrap into tools for the future
In this edition of Crossing Continents, Julian Pettifer reports from Africa's youngest nation: the tiny but proud country of Eritrea, which gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after more than thirty years of war.
The programme interviews the people many believe to have won the last war, for an independent Eritrea: the country's women. After playing a crucial role in the seemingly endless fight for independence, Eritrean women are now battling to win basic rights in their communities.
Their courage didn't go unnoticed. The conflict has led to concrete changes in the way women are treated. Laws have been passed granting women the right to vote, divorce, own land and choose their own husband. Genital mutilation was outlawed and for the first time girls' education was promoted. Today women are in a position of authority and power. There are two women ministers, a quarter of MP's are women, and there's a clutch of female entrepreneurs. Eritrea's favourite singer this year, Helen Meles, is an ex-combatant in the war who's made a success of the career transition from fighter to pop star. But old habits die hard and it's really only the privileged who have managed to hold on to their gains and push the limits back even further. The National Union of Eritrean Women estimate that 90% of women are illiterate, which is why they've invested their time and resources in organising literacy classes for over 26,000 women. Crossing Continents talks to the ex-fighters turned businesswomen, politicians, and pop-stars about the fight for equality.
We visit a huge recycling depot in the capital, Asmara, (pictured above) where scrap metal is refashioned into everyday objects like water tanks and spades, and talk about the policy of self-reliance and the rebuilding programme.
Eritreans have adopted some unexpected facets of Italian culture. Like the Italians, they share a national passion for cycle racing. Eritrea's favourite drink is the cappuccino. There are countless cafés dishing up pasta and pizza ... and most can even offer them up with a glass of Eritrean-style Italian beer.
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23 Sep 98 | Africa
14 Jul 98 | Africa
27 Oct 98 | Africa
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