IWD: Bamenda “Godly” women maintain tradition

As women in about 40 countries of the world assembled at different points with diverse activities to recollect on their plight and celebrate their achievements, so too were those of Cameroon and Bamenda in particular.

The idea itself which dates back more than 100 years has had various reasons for becoming the established celebration that it is today; “The International Women’s Day.”

At the early days of the celebration in Cameroon, women with a Christian or religious backgrounds distant selves from the activities with many saying that it was an activity for “worldly or ungodly” women.

In 2014, the myth was broken with the Catholic Women’s Association CWA staging an uncommon passage on the commercial avenue. They were celebrating their silver jubilee. In 2015 Rev Sisters of the Roman Catholic Church stormed Bamenda; it was the year of consecrated life.

In 2016, the women of the Apostolic Church took the relay. Exceptionally, during their passage, the women were allowed to hand over a gift to the governor of the Northwest, who presided at the celebrations in Bamenda. They all carried copies of the Holy Bible reiterated their stand on Christian values.

Before the march pass, women of St Michaels Parish Futru Nkwen relied on the Parish Church for a Holy Mass before joining their fellow women in different groups to celebrate. Speaking in Futru during the Church meeting, the organiser Rev Fr Hippolyte Wirnkar who doubles as Parish Priest used the outstanding example of Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ to enjoin the women to be exemplary in word and action.

According to Northwest Governor, women in her jurisdiction have been outstanding and deserve special appreciation. He singled out the current Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda Prof Theresia Akenji for appointment into the function. Mbah Acha Rose current Minister Delegate for Supreme State Audit appointed in 2015, and other women featured in the governor’s recognition list. He earlier handed over certificates of recognition and excellence to them for service to the nation.

Aside from the older motivations surrounding political office and the pay gap, there is also increasing awareness of the disproportionate amount of abuse women suffer at the hands of others. The need for an increase in political offices was raised by the speeches of the Regional Delegate for women empowerment and family and the women forums representative.

At institutional levels, the day rekindled camaraderie among staff as could be read from the telling smiles and pictures.

Cameroon still recorded some unfriendly incidences with many pictures trending on social media. They danced exposing private body parts ad under wears while orders sustained wounds from accidents and fights.

Some facts to reflect over

An estimated 120 million girls and women under the age of 20 have been subjected to forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts - around 10 per cent.

A huge majority of cases, which often involved partners and relatives, also go unreported - and convictions for rape remain very low around the world.

More than a third of women worldwide have also experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives, with this being most common between a woman's teenage years and menopause.

Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of a billion more women are in the global workforce today than a decade ago, but they are only earning what men did in 2006, according to the World Economic Forum.And one in 10 married women are not consulted by their husbands on how their cash earnings will be spent.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, said he had been on a personal campaign to promote women and ensure their democratic representation in parliaments across the world.

“We have shattered so many glass ceilings we created a carpet of shards,” he said.“Now we are sweeping away the assumptions and bias of the past so women can advance across new frontiers.”