Poor Mothers and Begging: How Impoverished Ethiopian Women Support Their Children in the Absence of a Strong State Welfare System

Abstract

Despite various efforts to achieve women’s empowerment, many women in developing nations still face desperate situations. In countries where social welfare services for the poor do not exist, mothers are expected to support their children by any means possible, including by begging. This is the case in Ethiopia, where poor mothers, especially in urban areas, engage in begging to support their families. To learn more about the lived experiences of these women we conducted qualitative interviews with 17 mother beggars who were identified through purposive sampling. From the interviews, we identified the following themes: begging as a better option; begging as a solution to a crisis; begging as a family identity; and challenges of begging. Children were considered assets as well as burdens by the mother beggars, who believed that more money could be made by using children, while acknowledging the stress of looking after their children when begging. Understanding the realities of these situations can help determine suitable responses to the needs of poor mothers raising children in the absence of strong state welfare systems.