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De son côté, la Proclamation de la réforme agraire (1994 et 1997) accorde à tout citoyen le droit d’utiliser la terre, sans discrimination de genre, de religion ou d’origine ethnique. Par conséquent, les femmes ont obtenu des droits égaux et la possibilité d’accéder à la terre pour la cultiver, construire des maisons et créer des entreprises dans les zones rurales et urbaines.
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The Eritrean government’s commitment to gender equality is very visible in the labour and land-reform proclamations. The Labour Proclamation, effective since November 2001, provides for the legal protection of women in employment and specifies equal opportunity and maternal-protection benefits for women, while the Land Reform Proclamation (1994 and 1997) gives every citizen the right to use land without discrimination on the basis of gender, religion or ethnicity. Consequently, women have gained equal rights and the opportunity to access land for farming, building houses, and businesses both in rural and urban areas. Women make up 30% of the workforce, and are very active in the informal sector. Eritrean women controlled about 40% of all small- and medium-sized enterprises. Maternal mortality rates, due partly to potentially harmful traditional practices, are declining, but education levels remain low. Distances to health facilities and the cost of transport are also factors preventing pregnant women from seeking health care. Notwithstanding, Eritrean society remains traditional and patriarchal, and men retain privileged access to education, employment and the control of economic resources. According to the Social Institutions & Gender Index, Eritrean women have access on average to only 9% of available loans from commercial banks due to lack of collateral.
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