2. PROEXPOSURE: there is a mountain on
the edge of Biera
To mark the International day of the girl and the unique
challenges facing girls in Ethiopia.
By Mark Chamberlain
Photographs by PROEXPOSURE

3. The mountain looms over this village in northern Ethiopia. 51-year-old
Birihanu and her husband struggle to look at it. „I watched her as she
walked further and further away‟ says Birihanu. She stopped and sat on that
mountain to look back. She waved at us. Then her arm dropped, she turned
and started her journey again. I thought, “She is gone from us forever”.‟

4. Birihanu‟s 19-year-old daughter, Alem left the village over a month ago.
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Alem a young, happy woman, but behind her warm smile, there was a
person who refused to accept the status quo. She was strong, proud and
ambitious. Why shouldn‟t she get an education? Why shouldn‟t she have a
chance to make a happy life for herself? Caption Text
Photos by Text

5. In Ethiopia, the onus is normally on the women and girls in the family to
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collect water and get food. Seven out of every ten girls don‟t attend
secondary school, which means they don‟t have the skills and knowledge to
support themselves.
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Photos by Text

6. Alem wanted something
more than this.
The role that women‟s
education plays in a
society‟s development was
recognised in the UN‟s
International Bureau of
Education‟s report on
Ethiopian
education, published in
2004:
Girls‟ education is one of
the fundamental pillars for
ensuring sustainable
economic
development, democratic
participation and poverty
reduction.

7. Alem got good scores in
her exams, but they weren‟t
quite good enough – she
got 1.9 in her exams, the
required grade was 2.0.
She was distraught, the
chance to go to college to
learn a skill, to make a
better life for her family had
been taken from her.
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8. „Alem looked for a job
everywhere – even with her
exam marks, she couldn‟t get a
job as a cleaner.
„But there is nothing for her here.
She has an education, she has
ambition. But there is nothing.‟
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Photos by Text

9. That day on the mountain Alem was setting out to travel to Saudi Arabia.
Migrant workers there often perform domestic or very low-skilled labour
jobs. Get found out as an illegal worker in Saudi Arabia and you face
immediate arrest and deportation.
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10. Migrants face abuse. Women in particular being prey to physical and sexual
abuse. There is also the psychological impact: like Alem, many leave their
homes in remote areas to go from a life with no electricity and a slower
pace to a bustling metropolis full of noise and having to adapt to a
completely new lifestyle.
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11. But the lure of migrating to find work and money to send home is too great.
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It‟s a quick way of changing your own and your family‟s life.
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12. „She called us after a
month‟ says Birihanu. „She
is alive and she is okay.
She is strong. She has a
plan to change her life and
our lives. She wanted to
work and make good
money in Saudi Arabia and
then come back here.‟
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13. „If Text tell her one thing‟ Birihanu‟s voice is quiet now, „I would
I could
say, “Alem, we love you, take good care of yourself. Please stay safe – we
want you to come back for Ethiopian New Year.‟
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Photos by Text

14. To find out more about PROEXPOSURE
contact our friendly team
on +44 (0)20 7275 8472,
on twitter @PROExposure
or email Louise Norton proexposure@gmail.com
Photographs by PROEXPOSURE photographers Ataklti Mulu and Alem Assefa with Annie Bungeroth, Sarah Davison and BroadArrow