Women of Cameroon: Let’s make Women’s Day count!

For the past years in Cameroonwomen have celebrated this great day with a lot of activities for a period of one week.

During this week we usually have activities such as workshops, seminars, conferences and round tables around the nation both in Rural and Urban areas.

The highest point of the activities is on the 8thMarch. This special day is marked with amarchpass at the grand stand in the morning followed by feasting and dinning in restaurants, bars, cafes and halls. This last part of the celebration is a call for concern in Cameroon.

Last year when I was feasting around town in a public space where there were about 3different groups of women, I witnessed some women get drunk and losing control leading to their misbehavior in public.

Due to excess in alcohol, they lost balance on their way back and 2 of them fell down ina gutter and sustained serious injury. One of the women lost her sight after falling on and heating her head on a sharp object.

I want to take this opportunity to tell women that there is still a lot to do in raising awareness about the benefits of having a very special day to celebratefemininityand sister hood.

In the past, I’ve seen men going around taking pictures of women in odd situations on social media. It is very sad to see the images of how women misbehave due to excess on this day on public media.

Many women have reducedWomen’sDay to a day ofsenseless celebration, instead of an awareness raising day.

I dream of the day whenwewill use ITC tools to convene and pass strong messages to the government about issues that affect us women most.

I want to cause a social change for women to understand that this day could be used in making demands to policy makers about important matters that need to change in their lives.

I have decided to spend the day in a more constructive and meaningful mannerby holding a radio talk before the day and a seminar on that day to reinforce the meaning of the day and facilitating a day workshop to highlight a chosen theme of the year

Looking at the 2017 IWD theme: “Be Bold For Change”,lstronglybelieve thatit is time to rise up, take action, be bold for change on this day and beyond by taking groundbreaking action that will truly drive the greatest change for women.Getting women out of ignorance and slumber by sensitizing and educating on how to take the take the lead in making the change they want to see.

“There is no force equal to a woman determined to rise”

For this 29th Edition of the International Women’s Day,I invite World Pulse ladies in Cameroon to join me: let us#LogOnRiseUpand use social media to convey strong messages to all the stakeholders. Let’s give more meaning tothe day by involvingas many womenaspossible.

This is day is set aside to bring awareness to all people inthe communities, politicians, law makers, administrators, religious and traditional authorities etc. to the particular situation of women in our country and the world today. It is therefore a day to create awareness and prick our collective consciences so that some actions should be taken to correct these injustices. Its actual purpose is to be a day of peaceful protest so that things concerning women could be changed, not a day of senseless celebration

In the future I look forward to having a month full of educational activities at all levels for all classes of women such as seminars, talks, workshops and conferences. It is certain that these things will lead to change and women will have something to work towards.

We will use the International women’s day in Cameroon as an important catalyst and vehicle for driving greater change for women and moving closer to gender parity.

How to Get Involved

You can support my work at CYEED by donating material and equipment such as laptops. Computers, tablets, office equipment, projector and screen.

Your generous donations will go a long way to bring digital skills to women across Cameroon.