Women have few opportunities for education or in the formal economic sector. There are no women in the cabinet or parliament. Female genital mutilation is almost universal among Djibouti s women, and legislation forbidding mutilation of young girls is not enforced. The formal sector in the largely rural agricultural and nomadic subsistence economy is small. Workers may join unions and strike, but the government routinely obstructs the free operation of unions.
Wages are extremely low.
The country s economy is heavily dependent on French aid. Efforts to curb rampant corruption have met with little success.