The South West/North West women task force has on Tuesday 1st December brought together over 100 women from all seven divisions of the North West region to educate, sensitize and amplify their voices in the fight against Gender-Based Violence.
This one-day session comes within the 16 day activism period against GBV which started on the 25th of November 2021 to end on the 10th of December 2021. With the vision of having a society where there is inclusive and effective participation of women in all peace processes and decision making, these women were schooled on the causes of GBV, its effects, possible preventive measures, and how to combat gender-based violence in times of crisis because women are most affected and vulnerable during a crisis.
Regional coordinator
The regional coordinator for SW/ NW women task force, Madam Clotilda Andinsa Waah says the reason for bringing these women together is because they are the most affected reason why they brought in experts who are well-grounded. So she is satisfied with the turnout and confident that these women will take what they learn to their communities.
“We realized that it is very necessary to bring the grassroots women who are very exposed to this various forms of GBV to sensitize them and educate them so that they can be able to identify the various forms of GBV and gain knowledge on how they can go about solving cases of gender-based violence. So to do this, we brought together experts like the barrister who drilled them on the different forms of gender-based violence as well as what the Cameroonian Law says about it and how they can access justice when they are victims", she said.
Talking about the satisfaction, she says, “I think that we had even more than the number we expected and we are very confident that these women here present are going to go down to the field and sensitize their communities and tell them more about what they have learned today. We also brought in the Community Initiative For Sustainable Development (COMINSUD) which is very specialized in gender-based violence and so we are very sure the women got the best and they received enough information to they will use to be able to prevent gender-based violence from happening”, she intimated.
Barrister Tamon Olivia while talking about how to combat GBV in crisis times says some laws cover GBV in Cameroon and no perpetrator is above the law.
“There are various forms of GBV that are covered by the domestic and international laws. We have laws within Cameroon beginning with the constitution of the Republic of Cameroon, there is the 2016 penal code that was recently revised which carries so many aspects of GBV against women, there I the prescription and punishment that follow…there is nobody who is above the law, everybody is answerable to the law so whether state agents, law enforcement officers or whoever commits an offense must face the law”, she stated.
As a participant, Jara Patu Jibbo a community leader in Ntambag says she is happy as she has gained more knowledge “I have learned more about GBV, about the rights of a girl child, early marriages and I have gained knowledge which I will take back to my community.”
The mission of the South West North West Women Task Force is to promote meaningful participation of women in peace mediation, conflict resolution, and decision-making at all levels for sustainable peace and development.
By Tantan Patience
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