During a trip to Eritrea in August, former President Carter presented the Government with a list of names of alleged detainees. The Government responded the next day. There were no reported instances of official discrimination against any Eritrean because of race, religion, sex, disability, or social status. In 1991 the then Provisional EPLF Government codified a broad range of rights for women, including guarantees of equal educational opportunity, land ownership, equal pay for equal work, legal sanctions against domestic violence, and other economic and legal rights. Despite the strong policy positions of the Government, there are some elements of traditional discrimination against women in Eritrean culture.
Women perform significant amounts of farm labor and almost all child-rearing.
In schools, females are less obvious in lower grades than are males. This disparity is even more visible in predominantly rural Muslim areas. Notwithstanding strong pressure from Muslim clergy, the Government supports school attendance by Muslim females. Exact figures are not available, but a countrywide ratio of two boys in class for each girl is approximately correct. Domestic violence is not widespread.