Exploring interlinkages between personal and political transitions among adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Exploring interlinkages between personal and political
transitions among adolescents in LMICs
Nicola Jones, Kate Pincock, Wafa’a Alamaireh, Workneh Yadete
10th May 2021
School parliament, Ethiopia © Nathalie Bertrams / GAGE 2019

Outline of presentation
1
• Introduction
2
•GAGE Overview and research methodology
3
•Findings
4
• Conclusions and policy recommendations

Youth transitions
 The transition through adolescence is characterized
by rapid biological, emotional and social changes.
 ‘Youth transitions’ not necessarily defined by a
particular start and end point or what happens, but
the significant life changes experienced by young
people, including education, household composition,
work and status within communities.
 Adolescents’ cognitive and emotional processing
interacts with their environment and their
embeddedness in wider processes of social change
and development.
 Youth transitions thus feature changes in engagement
with politics and the construction of citizenship

‘Waithood’ and political subjectivities
A ‘waithood’ lens pays
explicit and critical
attention to the ways that
global capitalism shapes
both the economic
opportunities and
increasingly the political
and civic engagement of
young people (Jeffrey 2010;
Honwana 2012; Sukarieh &
Tannock 2018).
Under these
conditions, young people
may navigate, resist and
rebel against structures in
ways which do not reflect
Western
conceptualizations of
active and engaged
citizenship (Bayat 2010;
Nigam 2012; Honwana
2013; Bellino 2018).
This approach places an
emphasis on young
people’s agency and
resistance to systems of
oppression and inequality
(Di Nunzio 2015;
Huijsmans 2016;
Honwana 2019; Abebe
2020).

Knowledge gaps
However, despite a body of research that explores the ways that context shapes personal
opportunities and aspirations there has been limited research in LMICs as to how young
people become engaged in politics and its significance for their transition to adulthood.
•Gender differences in the
experiences of youth transitions
and political processes are also
underexplored.
Disadvantage and
marginalization are also context-
specific experiences requiring
attention to extant political
dynamics and opportunities for
youth engagement.

Background: Ethiopia
Young people’s engagement with politics in Ethiopia has been profoundly shaped by expanded access to
education in the past two decades and an emphasis on schooling as a route to professional jobs.
However, gender and urban/rural educational inequalities persist and youth unemployment
remains around 50%.
Many young people migrate to urban areas for work and find only low-paid precarious jobs, in
stark contrast to their aspirations.
Government land redistribution has been accused of exacerbating unemployment due to young
people unable to continue agricultural labour.
Between 2012 and 2018, groups such as the Qeerroo (largely comprised of Oromo youth) and the
Fano (of Amhara youth) organised large-scale, ongoing anti-government protests.
However, subsequent changes in leadership brought about in part by youth activism -have been
insufficient to placate Ethiopia’s swathe of unemployed, educated youth.

Background: Jordan
The Arab Spring that swept the MENA region between late 2010 and 2013 have had a profound impact on Jordanian
politics.
Hirak ( ‫راك‬ ِ‫)ح‬ protest groups proliferated during 2011 and 2013, of which many were youth-led and used social media
to communicate and mobilise against the state’s neoliberal economic policies and its consequences: rising
unemployment, nepotism in the job market, a lack of social safety nets, and corruption of national financial assets.
Prior to the Arab Spring, Jordan had been struggling economically, with a high youth unemployment rate and
high cost of living.
However, its relationships with foreign states have allowed it to retain an inflow of international aid and
support, which have since been mobilised in the context of the influx of refugees from Syria.
These dynamics, and the fear of instability amongst young Jordanians, have stultified more radical reforms and
led to disillusionment amongst youth protesters since 2012.
However, youth activism continues to simmer, directed at ‘single issues’ rather than a destabilising agenda.

Gender, youth transitions and politics
How does gender shape both the experiences of youth transitions and of ongoing
political processes in Ethiopia and Jordan, two geo-politically pivotal LMICs?
In both contexts, where
gender norms constrain the
mobility of girls in ways which
affect their opportunities to
participate in politics,
activism and protest tends to
reflect the concerns of young
men.
In Ethiopia, the Qeerroo
and Fano political movements
are highly masculine,
potentially due to gender-
related educational
inequalities and the routes to
adulthood available to young
men in comparison to young
women.
In Jordan, whilst women
had a large presence in the
Arab Spring and in
subsequent protests and
strikes, demands to address
gendered experiences of
marginalisation were not
incorporated into the national
protest discourse.

Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE):
A longitudinal research programme (2015-2024)
By finding out ‘what works,’ for whom, where
and why, we can better support adolescent girls
and boys to maximise their capabilities now and
in the future.
We are following over 18,000 adolescent girls and boys - the largest cohort of
adolescents in the Global South

Findings: youth voice and agency
 Limited scope for voice and agency in the household, especially with regards to major life decisions like
marriage and particularly for girls due to conservative gender norms
‘Our mothers do not let us get out of home once we are becoming older...The boys are set free.’
(13-year-old girl, South Gondar, Amhara region, Ethiopia)
‘I cannot refuse. If I refuse the man who is going to marry me, he would be given permission to take me by force.’
(17-year-old married girl from Zone 5, Afar region, Ethiopia)
‘What bothers me a lot is that we are not allowed to leave the house. We must take everyone's opinion if we want to do
anything. It also annoys us that we are forbidden to use mobile phones. (…) Society intervenes in everything about the
female, they ask where she goes and when she will return, and why she is dressed like this? (…) Because she's a girl, they
force her to do a lot of things. In my community, as Syrian, a girl is forced to marry early.’
(16-year-old Syrian girl, host community, Jordan)
 Limited scope for voice and agency in the classroom on account of highly authoritarian education systems,
although in some regions in Ethiopia school-based girls clubs and children’s parliaments raise adolescent
awareness about their rights and where to report violations
‘They teach us about discipline, our rights and responsibilities…I take part in school clubs… It is to get better knowledge.’
(15-year old girl, East Hararghe, Oromia region Ethiopia)
‘The teachers are very nervous; they don’t give the girls a chance to talk. They speak toughly.’
(16-year-old Jordanian girl, host community)
‘I started running away from school. I want to be able to read and write, but I left because of the way we are treated. For
example, one would start talking and spelling the words, because he can’t read or write, and then they hit him.’
(17-year-old Syrian boy, Zaatari camp, Jordan)

Findings: youth voice and agency
 Limited role models and again findings are highly gendered
‘There is no one that I consider as a role model.’
(12-year-old girl, South Gondar, Amhara region, Ethiopia)
‘I want to be like Jawar [an influential political activist]… because he is analyst of the entire world, I want
to achieve like that goal.’ (13-year-old boy, East Hararghe, Oromia region, Ethiopia)
‘I follow Queen Rania on the internet and I have seen her work … She’s very keen on fashion. Every time
she appears with a new look, she tries to be the most beautiful, and at the same time she’s also neat and
polite.’ (16-year-old Syrian girl, host community, Jordan)
 Limited policy focus on adolescents, greater attention towards youth 19+ and general
perception that participation is only about political party affiliation and not appropriate for
young people.
‘We are not interested in these things [politics]. These are the interests of the old persons not the young
persons.’ (14-year-old Palestinian boy, camp, Jordan)

Findings: opportunities for participation
Seismic change in Ethiopia
 Sudden opening for political expression in Ethiopia after
a decade of repression (since 2005 election) with
reformist Dr Abiy Ahmed taking office
 Organised adolescent and youth movement were at
forefront of the political transformation process,
especially Qeeroo from the Oromia region, and over
time Fanau in Amhara region. Repeal of draconian 2010
Civil Society Law in 2019 has provided an opening for
more civil society groups to form
 This reform process has also led to a generational shift
in power in many districts. Nevertheless local
government officials are also often reluctant to provide
fertile ground for youth participation due to fear of
criticism and loss of power.
 Participation has also presented high risks, with
growing violence and insecurity, and high numbers of
internally displaced persons
Muted change in Jordan
 Jordan is situated in a very pivotal geo-political
location and young people are often targeted by
radical movements, esp. in context of high youth
unemployment
 However, high levels of security and surveillance
mute political contestation, and for refugees in
particular who face risk of deportation for political
engagement
 Civil society is dominated by trend of NGO-isation
rather than social movements, especially given large
inflows of international aid to the humanitarian
sector following the start of the Syrian crisis
‘We avoid talking about royal decisions and anything
related to the king. We are afraid to talk about politics by
the phone as well. (…) They suspected that our
neighbours ’son belonged to ISIS; they took him to prison
for three months.’ (15-year-old Syrian girl, ITS, Jordan)
‘Children are future leaders of the country, but no one seems to think
that way ... Even in our high school, no one contacted us about what
we need and what we are doing.’
(19-year-old divorced girl, Zone 5, Aar, Ethiopia)

Findings: gender dimensions of participation
In both contexts, those who are politically engaged are disproportionately male due to conservative gender
norms
 In Ethiopia and Jordan, in accordance with gender norms girls and women are socialised to be more obedient
within families and communities’ life put them at more disadvantaged position in relation to their participation
in political dialogues and public events.
 More options for engagement as a result of social media – especially for urban youth – but again more
restrictions on girls and rural youth who have more limited connectivity. There are also rising concerns about
young people being victims of fake news and disinformation spread via social media.
 In Ethiopia, despite the recent political reform which resulted in the appointment of 50% women cabinet
members, and the first female president, there have to date been limited spill over effects on adolescent girls’
and women’s participation in politics more broadly.
‘Women talk about social issues; they say what the other
women said or what the other men said. (…) They talk about
a girl getting engaged or getting married, but they don’t talk
about politics.’ (Key-informant, Amman, Jordan)
‘I refused [to be chair of the local Qeeroo movement], believing
that this village will not accept my leadership [as a female].’
(17-year-old girl, East Hararghe, Qeeroo activist, Ethiopia)
‘I read the news on Facebook and sometimes YouTube. I follow
a channel and they notify me when there is new news. On
Facebook, I follow a channel called "Jordan and exile”.’
(15-year-old Syrian girl, host community, Jordan)
‘In our area, females do not have phones. It is usually
males who can have a cell phone… It is to prevent women
from cheating with other men by calling through the
phone.’ (14-year-old girl from Zone 5, Afar, Ethiopia)

Conclusions
1
Both countries are geo-political magnets which have undergone rapid political transformation over the
last decade, prompted by both regional and national forces for change
2
Youth have played an important role in these processes but participation for adolescents and young
people more broadly has been limited and often highly risky, and especially for refugees in the Jordanian
case
3
At the micro (household) and meso (school and community levels) young people’s participation is
circumscribed by powerful social norms that perpetuate age hierarchies and authoritarian practices
4
Gender norms have further constrained adolescent girls and women’s participation in the political
sphere, both in terms of in-person and online engagement, even as women have made gains in terms of
formal political participation

Recommendations
It is critical to harness opportunities for participation at
micro- and meso-levels and to strengthen young people’s
awareness of their rights, how to exercise them and how to
speak out against violations
Provide parents with
parenting education
courses that help
caregivers balance
adolescents’ needs for
protection and
participation
Invest in adolescent
clubs and safe spaces
that provide young
people with
opportunities to foster
their own voices in
child-friendly venues
that over time segue
into scaffolded
community
interactions
Foster an engaged
citizenry by ensuring
that civics education
fosters democratic and
peace-oriented beliefs
and behaviours and
counters
misinformation
Recognise that
married girls are the
most silenced and step
up cross-community
efforts to eliminate
child marriage and
support married girls’
agency
Inspire girls by creating
campaigns aimed at
providing them with
female role models

Contact Us
WEBSITE
www.gage.odi.org
TWITTER
@GAGE_programme
FACEBOOK
GenderandAdolescence
About GAGE:
 Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence
(GAGE) is a nine-year (2015-2024) mixed-
methods longitudinal research programme
focused on what works to support
adolescent girls’ and boys’ capabilities in the
second decade of life and beyond.
 We are following the lives of 18,000
adolescents in six focal countries in Africa,
Asia and the Middle East.

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