Key Social Norms Take-aways This study demonstrates that despite progressive policy reforms across three Ethiopian political regimes, persistent gender norms—particularly those around early marriage, ideal femininity, and sexual purity—continued to shape and constrain adolescent girls’ capabilities and aspirations. Social norms rooted in cultural and religious beliefs often superseded formal protections and legal frameworks. Notably, the threat of gender-based violence and community-enforced social sanctions deeply affected girls’ bodily integrity, mobility, and educational trajectories, while boys experienced fewer restrictions. The study highlights the importance of collective agency among adolescents, especially girls, in contesting discriminatory norms, and the need to work with community gatekeepers to transform entrenched attitudes.
Objectives The article investigates how adolescent girls’ and boys’ capabilities and aspirations have evolved across three generations in rural Amhara, Ethiopia, in relation to shifts in political regimes, institutional structures, and prevailing social and gender norms. It aims to understand how these norms intersect with broader structural and institutional change to shape adolescent trajectories.
Methods Using a feminist constructivist approach, the study employed qualitative methods including in-depth interviews with intergenerational trios (grandparent, parent, adolescent) and community historical timeline group discussions. Data was collected in 2014–2015 across four woredas in Amhara and analyzed thematically using NVivo software.
Results Across all regimes, gender norms significantly constrained adolescent girls’ capabilities more than boys’. During the imperial regime, girls were entirely excluded from education and pressured into early marriage. While access to education improved during the Derg and EPRDF periods, parental and societal expectations continued to prioritize boys’ education. Girls faced additional barriers such as heavy domestic workloads, fear of gender-based violence, and reputational risks. Although the EPRDF era saw greater awareness of girls’ rights and some resistance to early marriage, legal protections were often undermined by community norms, victim-blaming, and weak enforcement. Boys’ freedoms were sometimes constrained during political instability but remained less affected overall.
Conclusions The study concludes that institutional reforms alone are insufficient to ensure adolescent girls’ capability success. Persistent and cumulative gendered obstacles—shaped by social norms, beliefs, and traditions—continue to impede girls’ agency, particularly in emotional, bodily integrity, and aspirational domains. For meaningful change, formal policies must be complemented by strategies that address informal norms, empower girls’ collective agency, and engage community gatekeepers to challenge discriminatory practices.