Personally I didn't want to have children because I believed that it would hinder my activity,' says ex-fighter Lichy. As the war progressed the TPLF joined with other rebel groups to form a coalition, and by the late 1980s they held power in a significant area in the north of the country. In the old days women in Tigray were often pressed into marriage when they were as young as seven years old. In June 1992 the war was finally won and the coalition of rebel fighters came to metropolitan Addis Ababa, where they now form the new transitional government. Now the euphoria of winning the war is fading a little, they are discovering that it is far from easy to interest women who live in the south of the country in ideas of female emancipation.
Many southern women are still disinclined to trust government promises.
Some progress has been made, however. For the first time there are two women ministers in the cabinet, and an officer for women's affairs. Rural women can now participate in their local councils, and they also have the right to hold land. The day when the women of Ethiopia can expect serious help with household tasks from the menfolk still seems to be a long way off. The housework is still there, women still have to fetch the water and the firewood and do all the cooking.