Obala, Cameroon:

United Methodist Women Champion Fight for Women’s Rights

Members of United Methodist Women Association Cameroon

A training workshop organized in Obala, near Yaounde, recently, by the United Methodist Women Association Cameroon, UMWAC, and its partners, was aimed to empower women against gender based violence

The Cameroonian woman is exposed to all forms of violence. Limited by a patriarchal society that accepts violence against women and children as a common cultural practice, women have little decision-making and bargaining power in their relationships. And while there has been considerable improvement in the perception of women that results in greater respect for their rights, the Cameroonian society still primarily considers her a family asset and an object of pleasure and procreation.

                Based on this unfortunate reality, the United Methodist Women Association Cameroon (UMWAC) partnered with non-profit organisations, the Cameroon Association for the Protection and Education of the Child (CAPEC) and Obala Municipal Council to say ‘NO to Gender based violence,’ during a training workshop organised in Obala. The theme of the workshop was Public Education and Advocacy to reduce Gender Based Violence. The workshop aimed at equipping and empowering the women with knowledge and awareness about human and legal rights to help reduce their vulnerability to violence and discrimination. Further, the workshop outlined mainstream gender-based abuse prevention mechanisms and helped women understand how these guidelines can be included in their respective community development action plans.

                The program brought together a diverse set of 55 women leaders representing a wide variety of organizations and groups, including leaders of civil society organisations, members of several Christian denominations, indigenous women, minority women/girls, HIV/AIDS infected women, economically disadvantage women, victims of gender-based violence, and run-away child brides seeking shelter and protection.

                The workshop was opened by Mr Ango Guillaume, Sub divisional Delegate for Women’s Empowerment and the family of Obala. Later, Mama Sara Ambadiang, National President of UMWAC, and Mama Cordelia Maigari, Women Desk Coordination of UMWAC, talked about the association and their mission, objective, activities and registered successes.

                Speaking during the workshop, Mme Tilder Kumichi Ndichia, gender expert and member of National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, Cameroon, gave a quick guide to gender concepts, citing situations in the family. She started from the definition of gender. During her presentation, she described to the women some aspects that can arise violence towards them at home which we neglect as women. She gave an example of a woman who stays all day at home without cleaning the house, and her husband, after spending a whole day at the office, returns home to a house that has not been cleaned. How angry can he be? The women were very happy as she gave practical examples, and her personal story also boosted up the women to be conscious and stand up for their rights. She employed the women not to be self-sufficient in marriage, as marriage itself is not an achievement. She advised them to get engaged in different activities, prove that they have a role to play in the society, and know that they have worth and dignity. She encouraged them to learn different skills and educate themselves so they can gain a level of independence from their husbands for basic necessities. At the end of her presentation, the women were loaded with knowledge and were ready to make a change in their personal life and in their home.

                Representing the Minister of Women Empowerment and the Family was Mr Ango Guillaume, Sub divisional Delegate for Women’s Empowerment and the family of Obala. He schooled theparticipants about some aspects of the Cameroonian legislation and penal code on the fight against violence on women. The women expressed real concerns about the laws being merely in papers and not practical applied. They felt as though justice was not being given to women because the perpetrators of the violence have not been dealt with accordingly. But the delegate in his presentation addressed their worries and gave them hope that the government was against anyone that violates their rights as women. He cited some aspects of the penal code with penalties involved for those who exerted violence on women. At the end of his presentation, the women were happier because their thoughts about “nobody to speak in their favour” were wiped out as they now know the government was for them.

                Finally, Pastor Ning Melvis Abah, United Methodist Church Pastor, came in to discuss domestic violence from a biblical perspective. She divided her presentation into three parts: what violence is all about, manifestation of violence, and measures on how to avoid violence. She emphasised that when we read our Bible from Genesis to Revelation, the first thing that God established was marriage. She said, God forbids violence in the Bible time and again. She quoted Psalm 11, Proverb 13. She also cited some cases of domestic violence against women in the Bible and explained how they were handled by those involved. She encouraged the women not to fold their hands but instead work and earn the respect they deserve. She explained the various types of domestic violence including physical, psychological and spiritual. She then focused more on spiritual violence, which is a means of imposing spiritual values on women using Bible quotations against them. She also explained how to handle this form of violence using the biblical story of Abigal and Nabal (1 Samuel 25).

                Pastor Mengada Ignace, United Methodist Church pastor of Obala closed the workshop with a prayer and a word to the women. He said the role of the church is to teach, assist and engage both victims and perpetrators. “Remembering that poverty, laziness and greed are identical evils which must be conquered by hard work and love.

                He further said ‘our core values as a church must be a lived reality in our everyday life,’ quoting John Wesley, “Do good, do no harm and stay in love with God.”