Ransacking Tigray of Its Industrial Infrastructure: An Attack on Women’s Livelihoods

It has been reported  that the genocidal Ethiopian government is  systematically and deliberately ransacking industrial infrastructure and manufacturing machinery from Tigray. This represents an economic violence on the region’s recovery, productive capacity, and development. Ransacking critical industrial assets deprives Tigray of the tools needed to rebuild its economy, generate employment, restore livelihoods, and establish sustainable economic self-reliance.

Factories are not merely assets. They represent jobs, skills, investment, production capacity, and the economic foundations on which communities depend. Ransacking factories undermines the ability of local businesses to resume operations, creates further barriers to reconstruction, and risks prolonging economic hardship in a region already devastated by the genocidal war.

Women and Girls Bear a Disproportionate Burden

The consequences extend far beyond factory walls. Women and girls, who already face significant economic and social barriers, are particularly vulnerable to the destruction of employment opportunities and productive assets.

First, such violence destroys women’s economic independence. Factories provide women with formal employment, regular incomes, professional skills, and opportunities for advancement. When factories are ransacked, women lose not only their jobs but also the financial independence that enables them to support themselves and their families.

Second, economic deprivation increases vulnerability to gender-based violence. When households lose their income and women are pushed into poverty, their ability to leave abusive situations or resist exploitation diminishes. Economic insecurity heightens exposure to sexual exploitation, trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence.

Third, the destruction of livelihoods deepens food insecurity and household hardship. Many women carry substantial responsibility for providing food, securing critical supplies, and caring for children and other family members. The loss of wages makes it increasingly difficult to afford food, housing, healthcare, and other basic necessities. These pressures compound existing humanitarian needs and place additional burdens on women who are already struggling to survive.

Fourth, girls’ education is put at risk. As family incomes collapse, households are forced to withdraw girls from school or rely on their unpaid domestic labour and income-generating activities. Such pressures threaten educational opportunities, reinforce gender inequality, and undermine the long-term prospects of an entire generation.

These consequences are consistent with broader evidence on economic recovery in war-affected Ethiopia. The World Bank’s June 2026 analysis of women’s economic recovery highlights how the loss of assets and livelihoods, displacement, and increased care responsibilities create substantial obstacles to women’s economic independence.

Economic Destruction Undermines Fundamental Rights

Access to employment, adequate living conditions, food, and education are fundamental human rights, not privileges. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognizes the right to work under Article 6, just and favourable working conditions under Article 7, an adequate standard of living and freedom from hunger under Article 11, and the right to education under Article 13.

The systematic removal of productive assets, if established, raises serious concerns about its effects on these rights and the responsibilities of the authorities involved. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also recognizes rights to work, an adequate standard of living, and education under Articles 23, 25, and 26, respectively.

Economic recovery cannot be achieved through rhetoric while the productive foundations necessary for recovery are being dismantled. A region cannot rebuild its manufacturing sector without factories, restore livelihoods without employment, or create sustainable opportunities for women and young people while productive capacity is being removed.

Accountability and the Right to Rebuild

Those responsible for unlawful conduct must be held accountable, and affected workers and communities must receive reparations. Looted machineries must also be returned.