and economic advancements, women keep on suffering disparities in both poor and rich communities. Studies demonstrate that women also suffer from poverty and abuse because of persistent inequalities and relative weakness. Both in rich and poor countries, women undergo different types of mistreatment including: refusal of essential needs (education and medicinal services), feminization of poverty, physical mutilations and death, aggressive behavior at home and socially molded practices that jeopardize women's' nature of life (Boserup, 1971; Sen, 1990; Tinker, 1990). In relation to this, there are models intended for transforming welfare so as to achieve economic and social changes. These are welfare, anti-poverty, equity, and efficiency approaches.
42
The welfare approach was the initial methodology concerned with development endeavors in the Third World. It was established in the social welfare model of the colonial administration and post-war development agencies. It addresses women exclusively in their parts as wives and moms (Razavi and Miller, 1995). Hence, its strategies are confined to social welfare concerns, for example, healthful education and home financial matters. In the welfare approach, women’s are considered as passive recipients rather than dynamic members who can actively participant in social and economic matters (Moser, 1993). The researcher’s view was that this model alone does not address the real problem of women, especially in Ethiopia. This was mainly because of the fact that much of the problems of women need a real change of the deep-rooted conditioned practices resulted in women's poor quality of life than the simple improvement of welfare systems like education, health, and employment.
The equity approach was the first women in development approach. It was presented by the women in development movement in the United States and became well known during the United Nations Decade for Women. It depends on the presupposition that economic development negatively affects women. The equity approach hence advocates equal distribution of the benefits of development between men and women. It supports women's integration into the development process through access to job and the commercial activities. One imperative element of the equity methodology was that its concerns are not confined to economic disparity but also on other social disparities. This model was worried about the disparity between women and men, both in private and public circles of life. With a specific end goal to decrease the imbalances of women and men, this approach requests monetary and political self-governance for women through committed government intervention (Buvinic, 1986). Thus, this model again does not address issues identified with women in nations such as Ethiopia as it tries to enhance women's participation in already existing political and economic system without reforming it. In the real sense, this does not bring a real change as the already existing framework needs drastic reform.
43
The anti-poverty approach is the second women's in development approach. It became popular in the early 1970s (Moser, 1993). It concentrates essentially on the low-salary women with the vital objective of poverty reduction. During the 1970s, the anti-poverty approach was adopted by international organizations such as the World Bank and ILO as well as by numerous nations as part of their national programs (Razavi and Miller, 1995).The anti-poverty approach was familiar with the productive role of women. But, it ignores the reproductive role of women. Productive actions for women need to take into account both reproductive and community managing roles. Any productive actions for women need to carefully keep the balance between different roles of women. If this action was not taken into account these actions may imply an extra workload (Moser, 1993). In relation to anti-poverty approach, the researcher’s view was that this approach does not solve the real problem of women in Ethiopia because economic advancements alone do not lead to a greater autonomy as they do not meet strategic gender needs. Meeting strategic gender needs demands the change of social and cultural structure that leads women to poverty.
The efficiency approach was the third approach in women development. This methodology got to be mainstream during the 1980s, was still exceptionally prevalent. Its rise agreed with the rising fame of neo-traditional economic mode (Sparr, 1994). The efficiency approach concentrates mostly on economic development and considers women just as an input component for the economy. Therefore, it does not only shift the emphasis from women to development but also limits the concept of development solely to economic growth (Moser, 1993). The idea of development contains a great deal more than economic development: development implies all out development, incorporating development in the political, economic, social and different measurements of human life, and as well as the development of the economic and other material resources and the physical, moral, intellectual and cultural growth of human beings (United Nations, 1986). Researcher’s view was that this methodology does not work in Ethiopia in that capacity as it neglects to comprehend development as a multidimensional phenomenonon, including economic, as well as social development.
44
In conclusion, all these three approaches lack so many qualities in addressing women’s issues. Thus, the appropriate approach to rural women’s problem was to empower them through skills development programmes.
2.5 THEORIES EXPLAINING WOMEN’S EQUALITY AND ECONOMIC FREEDOM