Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Gender is no impediment to my legal practice



-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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