Health Care for Women International, 26:149-169, 2005 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Inc. iSSN: 1532-5008 print/1532-5016 online DOI: 10,1080/07399330590905594 Routledge Taylor &Francls Croup Women's Rights and Health: The Case of Oromo Women in Ethiopia FIGURE 1. The heavy burden tiim many Oromo women encounter. • I BEGNA FUFA DUGASSA Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Human immunodeficiency tHrus CHTV)/acquired immunodefi- ciency syndrome (AIDS), for which we have no cure or vacci- nation, is the major health problem in Ethiopia. This epidemic generally has affected poor communities and women. To contain this epidemic, the empoiverment of women is essential. In fact, the current working definition of health hy the World Health Organi- zation (WHO) makes social well-being a part of everyday living, wbich is an essential dimension of tbe quality of life. Tbe concept of quality of life means an opportunity to make cboices and even cbange tbe situation one is in. Here, tbe concepts of healtb and Received 12 September 2003; accepted 15 March 2004, Address correspondence to Begna Fufa Dugassa, Department of Theory and Policy Studies (TPS), Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto (OISE/UT), 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6. Canada, E-mail: bdugassa@oise.utoronto.ca 149