Women’s Day 2014:

Popular enthusiasm for celebration ends in drunken frenzy in bars

Women swarmed bars and pubs across the nation Saturday guzzling crates of beer and dancing to melodious tunes late into the night

By Ayukogem Steven Ojong with correspondent reports

Women around Cameroon stormed bars, off-licences, restaurants, chicken parlors and night clubs in amusement jaunts to crown a hectic day of celebrations marking the 29th International Day of the Woman.

                Both old and young women thronged bars and nightclubs later in the evening to dance and make merry, The Median’s correspondents in major towns of the country reported.

                Here in Yaounde, women were seen clustering in bars and dancing around tables lined with beer bottles. Some were spotted on the streets visibly drunk and parading with bottles of beer in their hands. In a stunning case near our Melen office, a tipsy damsel danced along the road embracing passers-by as she dangled on. The popular Carrefour Obili here was literally transformed into a bee-hive, as women flooded the street and the many bars, dancing and blocking vehicles, motorbikes and pedestrians from passing. Drunken women stooped intermittently at open street corners to empty their beer-filled bladders. Not even the heavy but short-lived downpour could deter the enthusiastic women from exhausting their agenda for the day.

   Over in Buea, crowds of women flooded the trade fair grounds in Molyko chanting, drinking and dancing to popular tunes. Much of the flair that was absent during the march-past at Bongo square was present late in the evening on the streets of Buea.

                In the North West regional capital of Bamenda, the colourful women’s day regalia adorned the streets late into the night. Even though many women failed to be part of the official activities at Commercial Avenue in the early hours of the day, most of them appeared a lot more comfortable with events in the evening. Women belonging to traditional meetings and professional associations gathered in drinking spots to share common meals and drink as much beer as they could afford.

                All over the country, the remarkable participation by men in official march-pasts was innovative and spoke volumes of the acceptance by men that women are equals, not subordinates.

                By the time we went to press yesterday, not many cases of violence were reported against women who had exaggerated their enjoyment to the chagrin of their men. But the case of a boy who stripped her girlfriend naked was reported in Biyem-Assi Yaounde.