“This Made Me Courageous” Girls Find Their Voices in Cameroon

Victorine, is from a small, farming village in northwest Cameroon. Few girls there go to school, and those who do are usually pulled out before they graduate and are married off before they turn 18. But Victorine has different plans for her future. She wants to be a lawyer.

Victorine is part of a club run by Women for a Change Cameroon, an organization that empowers girls and young women. The club was started three years ago so that girls—and some boys—could get information about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Victorine has been a part of the club from the beginning and is now one of its leaders. IWHC staff recently visited the club and saw firsthand the impact these initiatives are having on the lives of girls and young women. They advised the club’s leaders and facilitators on their comprehensive sexuality education lessons.

My encounter with male chauvinists

My encounter with male chauvinists: "According to the Transportation law, women are not allowed to sit by the door of a car. Only men are allowed". This is the word of a park guy who wanted to convinced me to give-up my seat in a public car for a man.

In response, I immediately asked him: "..in order words, that means women in this Country aren't allow to drive too?"

"No! No!", he replied. "..women driving is different but in the public transportation, women are not allowed to sit by the door/windows". "This is for their protection"

"Protection, you say", I replied. "...so this man is boarding this bus because he wants to protect all the women in this bus. What a charitable job!".

It was Friday, January 8, 2016 at around 3pm at Tiko bus station (Park) when one man came towards me and arrogantly asked me to leave my seat for him because he is the man and must be the one to sit by the door. When he told me that I should leave my seat for him, I asked him if it was written on the seat that "door / window seats for Man".

Man 1: "hey - you cannot sit by the door because you are a woman while a man should sit in the middle.... shift inside because you cannot put me inside."

Me: "..I think seats are taken according to they who cames first. And if you wanted to sit by the door, maybe you should have come earlier".

He was not the least happy with my reply and decided to look for a different seat behind.

While I thought, I was done with the seat debate, behold, here comes another man, who in his defense told me that it was his rights as a man to sit by the door.

After almost 4-5minutes of him cursing me on how bad and disrespectful I was, how I dare insist on sitting by the door he finally got inside.

As we drove to my destination, I couldn't stop thinking about the irritating experience and how each day, women will have to pull up with such arrogance, discrimination and abuse from men taking public transport. My experience of Friday also made me to reflect on how in the 1990s, women couldn't travel without the consent or permission of their husbands, whereas there was no law or a written text which said that women must take permission from their husbands in order to travel and yet, it was practiced until research by some gender activists revealed that it was not written anywhere.

It is high time we begin to challenge some of these stereotypes - no matter how little our efforts may be, we need to put an end to women’s oppression. Inasmuch as I felt relieved by my reaction but I was somewhat unhappy because these men didn't still understand the point and the reasons for my behaviour / reaction. They were all blinded by the fact that as a man, they are the ones to seat by the door/window and this was a right. While l, being a woman, I had no right but to succumb to their perspectives.
The journey for equality in Cameroon is still far and until we take a stronger stand and act boldly against all these injustice at all levels, women and girls in this country will continue to be oppressed.

This is why we need feminism every day.

Police Men and Street Harasment in Cameroon

Tuesday 26th is just one of the so many days that we have been street harassed by men.After having a tiring day of  doing what we are most passionate about and with all the exhaustion moving in the hot scotching sun,my friend and i could not go home because we had some unfinished business and badly needed to finish up with what we had planned to do on that day.

Around the Human Rights office,there were some two police men on the other side of the road,one standing and the other on a motor bike.I didn't pay much attention as they called for my friend's attention.What made me realize much more was going on was when my friend twisted her face in denial to respond to their call.I turned and looked at the two police men.My friend suggested i should not look at them and that we continue moving.

We didn't really know what to do or think at the moment because of the dress code policing that is going on.As we continued moving forward,the police man who was standing crossed to meet us while the other one on the bike continued moving forward on his bike so he could catch up with us.We never stopped moving when the police man following us starting talking.He spoke in french and told us he and his friend were new in Buea and do not really know the town that well.He said they would love to spend some time with us and asked for my friend's number.

Despite the fact that we showed no interest in continuing the discussion,the police man kept following us,persuading us to give our phone numbers while his friend across the road continued following us on his bike.My friend tactfully denied to give her number.The police man suddenly shifted his interest from my friend to me and said I'm the one he wants.I also tactfully denied to give my number by making excuses.We were in front of the health center when he said his friend on the bike could take us to Molyko since we said we lived far .

These men just did not want to leave us alone.It is just one of the several incidents where police men have been patrolling ,then shifted their attention from their jobs to harassing young women.Sometimes one is forced to be polite despite the fact that they loathe harassment and harassers because of their fear of being harmed.We are talking about police men that could physically abuse you then make excuses,lie you caused it or create some other motive,then get away with their crime.

It is a good thing we succeeded to manage that situation without things getting out of control.Not everyday one might be that lucky.Not every woman is that always lucky .

Join the campaign and post your story either on WFAC Facebook page or share online with the harshtag: #endpolicestreetharassment #dresscode

by Ngwentah Berlyn, WFAC