At least 1500 women drawn from across Cameroon’s ten regions will for three days rally in Yaoundé under the banner of the first-ever National Women’s Convention for Peace to brainstorm ways to contribute to finding lasting solutions to the devastating armed conflict rocking the North West and South West regions, the Boko Haram terror attacks in the Far North and other crises in the country.
Female-led organisations presenting the forthcoming first-ever women's convention to reporters in Yaounde
The convention to run July 29-31, 2021 will hold at the behest of a platform made up of 38 female-led organisations and networks under the auspices of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation – a German government funded not-for-profit organization committed to the advancement of both socio-political and economic development in the spirit of social democracy, through civic education, research, and international cooperation –, UN Women, several other members with technical support from the prime minister’s office, the ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family and other government structures.
Speaking during a press conference organized Thursday July 1, 2021 to present the project to reporters in Yaounde, Nina Netzer, the Resident Representative of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation, said the platform will offer Cameroonian women in all its facets to seek to attain three fundamental values of equality, development and peace.
Netzer said the forthcoming convention is fruit of tireless work done by 50 women organisaions since February. She disclosed that on the basis of consultations, the women groups during their brainstorming sessions elected a steering committee made up of representatives of all the different conflict regions with eight working groups (task forces). She added that the initiative will bring a positive turnaround to the longstanding impasse for a return to much-desired peace and normalcy in conflict-hit areas.
Nina Netzer, Resident Representative of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation talking to reporters at press conference
The three day convention to hold at the Yaoundé Conference Centre will engage women in a discourse on peace processes, conflict resolution, sexual and gender-based violence, building resilience, climate change and women’s protection as well as address issues towards mitigating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and culminate with a women’s call for peace.
Netzer used the press conference to recall examples of countries like Columbia in the South American continent where women alliance led to the adoption of peace agreements between government and rebel forces. She said the first-ever women’s convention for peace will send a strong signal that women are longing for peace and return to normalcy.
The convention to end 31 July, a day celebrated as Day of the African Woman, the women, said is an opportunity to highlight works done by women in their detached ranks to give them the chance to identify their gaps and forge a common ground to maintain, promote peace and security.
“All together, they will agree and reaffirm the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts. They will engage in peace negotiations, peace building, humanitarian response and post-conflicts constructions. We the Cameroonian women will come together as mothers, wives, sisters to build an alliance that is stronger and more numerous than those who profit from the war,” partly read a media release issued by the women at the press outing.
They disclosed that participants will cut across all sectors with women peace activists, displaced women and girls, victims of war-related violence, female traditional and religious leaders, female soldiers, women entrepreneurs, domestic workers, women from civil society and political parties and many more, to unite their voices to seek for peace in Cameroon. The women applauded all peace initiatives undertaken by government and its partners but said it is time for more urgent actions to be taken to arrest the crises in the country for a return to normalcy.
“We will come together as mothers, wives, sisters, to build an alliance that is stronger, louder, and more numerous than those who profit from war. Nothing will silence us or slow us down – not the difficult memories, the painful testimonies or the ignorance of those who treat women without respect. It is true that women are paying a disproportionately heavy price in armed conflicts every day. But we have also shown that we can face these difficult challenges with a strong determination, loud voices and firm actions,” the women said while reiterating their unwavering commitment to bring peace to the country.
The English-speaking North West and South West regions in particular has been plagued by violence for close to five years now. The crisis which has morphed into full-fledged armed conflict started in October 2016 following complaints of discrimination and perceived marginalization by the Francophone-dominated government on the minority Anglophone population.
Government’s seeming highhandedness, negligence and lack of tact in handling the modest demands from Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone teachers during peaceful demonstrations, use of force on unarmed civilians resulting to deaths, arson acts instead radicalised the masses.
The ongoing conflict has killed over 3,000 civilians, soldiers and members of the non-state armed groups, displaced over 700 000 and forced over 60 000 to flee to neighbouring Nigeria as refugees, according to estimates made by the United Nations in 2020.
The worsening violence marked by separatist-imposed lockdowns, ghost towns and state-imposed curfews continues to prevent many vulnerable people, especially women and children, from accessing healthcare. This has disrupted vital supply chains of essential drugs and equipment to health facilities, forced many medical personnel to flee to safer regions. Many health facilities in the suburbs have shut down while others have been burned.
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde
No comments:
Post a Comment