-Barrister
Gladys Mbuya, President FIDA Cameroon
Barrister Mrs.
Gladys Mbuya is President of the International Federation of Female Lawyers,
FIDA and hails from Pinyin in the North West region of Cameroon. Born on August
2, 1965, she is a mother of 3. The Median’s Sarah NkonghoOjong caught up with
her ahead of celebrations to mark International Women’s day on 8 March and she
made the following revelations about her career as a lawyer and the challenges
she faces as a woman in an essentially male dominated profession. Read on…..
Barrister can you tell us how
you became a lawyer?
G.M:Hmmm very difficult
question. Well, I consciously became a lawyer not like some other people who
accidentally find themselves in the profession. First of all, right from my
childhood I grew up having the belief that my mother was being discriminated
against just because she is a woman. I grew up seeing her struggling until she
became a business woman in her community and that made me to know that you have
to fight for people’s rights especially those who are being discriminated
against. That gave me the zeal to become a lawyer so that I can fight for the
powerless in society.
What are some of the challenges
you face as a female lawyer?
They are manifold. Female lawyers face
numerous challenges. You know that the work on the field is very challenging
and competitive and being a woman naturally I have my home, husband and my kids
to take care of plus my very exacting job of a lawyer. So I have to split my
time between home keeping and lawyering and this reduces the competitiveness
between me and the male lawyers. But I thank God that I am married to a very
understanding husband who is trying to give me all the support I need, so far
this has gone a long way to reduce the challenges I face as a female lawyer.
How is your rapport with your
male colleagues on the field?
I have a very cordial
relationship with all lawyers; it is such cordiality that gives us the spirit
even to sit together and concert, share experiences and exchange ideas like we
are doing today in this seminar to sensitize the women in Tiko on their rights.
One would think that being a
woman you have a natural advantage convincing male judges to pass judgment in
your favour?
Never! I say never and I will
keep saying never. It has never happened because i have always won my cases on
merit. Besides, I am the kind of person who does not permit or give chances for
any form of favoritism. I do not accept such favours from my male folks. And I
would not do something against them simply because they are male and I am
female. I am a fighter, always fighting. I fight for what I get. My judgments
always reflect the effort I put in.
Your advice for young girls who
have the dream to become lawyers in the future!
They should pursue their goals and not to be
scared. I know in the past girls used to shy away from the lawyers’ profession
saying it is a men’s profession. I admit it is not that easy for the women. But
you can bear testimony with me that nowadays there are more women joining the
corps and with many achieving remarkable success. Some women used to feel that
if they join the law profession they would not find their feet on the ground,
But thanks to the existence of some courageous female lawyers like us leading
the way correctly, it encourages them. So I will advice that girls should not
be scared. They should go ahead and do it if they have the passion. But they
must learn to put in their all and be ready to sacrifice. “All you need do is
put in your time in the goals you have chosen and follow them without looking
back.”
Thank you for taking some time
off your tight schedule to talk to The Median.
You are welcome my dear. See you
any time.
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