Social Anthropology Unit Four

Unit Four
4. Marginalization, Minorities, and Vulnerable Groups
Definition of concepts: Marginalization, Vulnerability Minority Groups

Marginalization:
It is defined as a treatment of a person or social group as minor, insignificant
or peripheral, which involves exclusion of certain groups from social
interactions, marriage relations, sharing food and drinks, and working and
living together.
Women, children, older people, and people with disabilities are among
marginalized groups across the world. The nature and level of marginalization
varies from society to society as a result of cultural diversity.
Religious, ethnic, and racial minorities are also among social groups
marginalized in different societies and cultures. Crafts workers such as tanners,
potters, and ironsmiths are marginalized in many parts of Ethiopia.
Vulnerability:
 Vulnerability refers to the state of being exposed to physical or emotional
injuries.
 Vulnerable groups are people exposed to possibilities of attack, harms or
mistreatment. As a result, vulnerable persons/groups need special
attention, protection and support.
Minority Groups:
 The phrase ‘minority group’ refers to a small group of people within a
community, region, or country. In most cases, minority groups are
different from the majority population in terms of race, religion,
ethnicity, and language. For example, black Americans are minorities in
the United States of America. Christians could be minorities in a Muslim
majority country. Muslims can be minorities in a predominantly Hindu
society.
 Hence, minority groups can be ethnic minorities, religious minorities, or

racial minorities in a given community, region of country.
4.2 Gender-based marginalization
Gender inequality involves discrimination on a group of people based on
their gender. Gender inequality mainly arises from socio-cultural norms.
The manifestations of gender inequality vary from culture to culture.

Girls and women face negative discrimination in societies across the world.
Women are exposed to social and economic inequalities
involving unfair distribution of wealth, income and job opportunities.
Gender-based marginalization is a global problem. It involves exclusion of

girls and women from a wide range of opportunities and social services.
Gender disparity in education is a good example. Girls in developing

countries, especially those who live in remote and rural
areas, are excluded from formal education.
…Cont’
There are some customary practices that affect the health and
wellbeing of girls and women. These practices collectively are called
harmful traditional practices (HTPs).
We will discuss two examples: early/child marriage and female
circumcision, also called female genital cutting/mutilation.
1. Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C):
 It denotes all procedures involving partial or total removal of the
external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital
organs for non-medical reasons.
 There are four major types of FGC. They are:
• Type I (clitoridectomy),
• Type II (excision),
• Type III (infibulation), and
• Type IV (all the rest).
 The first three types of FGC are practiced in Ethiopia.
Factors that encourage female genital cutting:
• FGC is considered as a process of purifying girls. In some cultures
uncircumcised girls/women are considered as impure. According to local
beliefs, marriage to uncircumcised girls would bring misfortunes such as
illness, infertility, and conflict. Hence, girls must be circumcised to be
clean and ready for marriage.
• Uncircumcised girls would be disobedient, powerful and ill-mannered. In

some parts of Ethiopia, people believe that uncircumcised girls tend to
destroy household utensils.
• There is a widely held belief that uncircumcised girls are promiscuous

because they have high sexual drive. Some people believe that marriage
to uncircumcised girls/women would not be stable and long-lasting.
• FGC is also considered as a means of preserving girls’ virginity, which is

considered as a precondition for marriage in some cultures.
2. Child/Early Marriage:
Child/‘early marriage’ is defined as any union between individuals
under the age of 18 years, this being the upper limit of childhood
internationally and the minimum legal age of marriage in Ethiopia.
4.3 Marginalized occupational groups:

Marginalized occupation groups are people engaged in craftworks
such as pottery, tannery, and iron works.
Craft-workers in Ethiopia produce several articles such as traditional

hand-woven clothes, household utensils, and farm tools.
Crafts workers lead a life of paradoxes. They have important

contributions to their communities; however, they are marginalized by
the dominant and majority groups.
Types/Forms of Marginalization:
1. Spatial marginalization:
 Craft-workers settle/live on the outskirts of villages, near to forests,
on poor land, around steep slopes.
 They are segregated at market places (they sell their goods at the
outskirts of markets).
 When they walk along the road, they are expected to give way for
others and walk on the lower side of the road.
2. Economic Marginalization:
 Craft-workers are excluded from certain economic activities
including production and exchanges. In some cultures they are not
allowed to cultivate crops.
 They have a limited access to land and land ownership.
Cont’
3. Social Marginalization:
 Craft-workers are excluded from intermarriage, they do not share
burial places with others; they are excluded from membership of
associations such as iddirs.
 When marginalized groups are allowed to participate in social events,
they must sit on the floor separately-sometimes outside the house or
near the door.
4. Cultural Marginalization:
 Occupational minorities are labeled as impure and polluting; they are
accused of eating animals that have died without being slaughtered;
 Occupational minorities are also considered unreliable, lacking
morality, respect and shame.
4.4 Age-based vulnerability
 Age-based vulnerability is susceptibility of people, especially
children and older people, to different forms of attack, physical
injuries and emotional harms.
 For example, children and older people (people aged 60 and above)
are exposed to possibilities of attack, harm and mistreatment
because of their age.
 As a result, vulnerable persons/groups need special attention,

protection and support. In this section,
Children:
Both boys and girls are exposed to some harm and abuse in the hands
of older people. However, girls are exposed to double marginalization
and discrimination because of the gender.
Child girls are exposed to various kinds of harm before they reach at
the age of maturity. As discussed earlier in this chapter, girls are
exposed to HTPs such as female genital cutting.
Minor girls are also exposed to early/child marriage in many parts of

Ethiopia. Early/child marriage: Early marriage refers to marriage which
involves girls below the age of 18.
…Cont’
 Early marriage has the following major harmful consequences:

Young girls enter into marital relation when they are too young to
give their consent to get married.
 Early marriage inhibits girls' personal development; it hinders girls’

chance to education and future professional development.
 Early marriage exposes young girls to sexual abuse by their older
husbands.
 Early marriage leads to early pregnancies, which increases risks of
diseases and complications during delivery, fistula, and death of the
mother or child.
 Child marriage is an illegal practice according to the Criminal Code
of Ethiopia.
 Despite these legal restrictions, however, early marriage is still
practiced in different regions of the country.
Factors for Early/Child Marriage:
1. Social norms: Chastity of girls is one of the social norms that
influence parents and relatives to protecting girls from pre-marital
sex. The value attached to virginity is another driver of early
marriage. Girl’s reputation and family social status are associated
with sexual purity of girls. Parents incline to marry off their daughter
before the girl reach at the stage of poverty to avoid the possibility
of pre-marital sex and love affair. Community members influence
unmarried teen-age girls to get married as early as possible.
2. Economic Factors: In many areas of Ethiopia marriage provides

economic security for young girls. Hence, parents, in some cases
girls, support early marriage for economic benefits such as access to
land and other resources. Parents’ desire to get a good husband for
their daughter is also another reason.
The Elderly:
 The phrase ‘older people’ refers to adults with the age of 60 and
above. The number of older people is increasing globally. According to
the estimation of the United Nations (2009), the number of older
people will increase to 2 billion by 2050. Eighty percent of the 2 billion
older persons would live in low and middle-income countries.
 People’s attitude towards older persons is changing over time in
Ethiopia and all over the world. Older men and women have been
respected across Ethiopian cultures. Older persons have been
considered as custodians of tradition, culture, and history.
 Ageism is a widely observed social problem in the world. Ageism refer

to stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people based on
their age. Older women and men enjoyed a certain level of support
and respected in the past. This was true in many cultures of Ethiopia in
the past. Things have been changing in recent times. Older people are
facing various problems as a result of modernization, globalization,
and urbanization
Home Reading Assignments:
4.5. Religious and ethnic minorities
4.6. Human right approaches and inclusiveness: Anthropological
Perspectives
\
Cont’
Cont’
…Cont’
…Cont’

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Unit Four

4. Marginalization, Minorities, and Vulnerable Groups

Definition of concepts: Marginalization, Vulnerability Minority Groups

 Hence, minority groups can be ethnic minorities, religious minorities, or

The manifestations of gender inequality vary from culture to culture.

Gender-based marginalization is a global problem. It involves exclusion of

Gender disparity in education is a good example. Girls in developing

• Uncircumcised girls would be disobedient, powerful and ill-mannered. In

• There is a widely held belief that uncircumcised girls are promiscuous

• FGC is also considered as a means of preserving girls’ virginity, which is

4.3 Marginalized occupational groups:

Craft-workers in Ethiopia produce several articles such as traditional

Crafts workers lead a life of paradoxes. They have important

 As a result, vulnerable persons/groups need special attention,

Minor girls are also exposed to early/child marriage in many parts of

 Early marriage has the following major harmful consequences:

 Early marriage inhibits girls' personal development; it hinders girls’

2. Economic Factors: In many areas of Ethiopia marriage provides

 Ageism is a widely observed social problem in the world. Ageism refer

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