Women must assert themselves in decision-making

Immaculate Akwanga

Women of the South West Province have been told to take up the challenge of making decisions that can be beneficial to them. This was during a recent round-table conference in Buea under the theme, “Women and decision-making”, organised by the International Federation for Female Lawyers, FIDA, as a follow-up to this year's Women's Day activities.

The conference aimed to keep women informed on the importance of such a day which is not just set aside for merry - making, but also as a time for reflection.
Speaking to the over 200 women who were mostly students from the Women and Gender Studies in the University of Buea, Cameroon President of FIDA, Magistrate Betty Luma, said that the organisation wants to start building up a community of capable women to take their own decisions.
"Decisions are not only taken at the level of the government, but at the level of the individual as well, be it at home or at the office, which can affect us positively in the future," she said. She stressed that women make up 52% of the population, and should not wait for men to make decisions for them, such as family planning, children's education, etc. She asked them to wave away those traditional and cultural beliefs that keep them in the dark.
Questions and answers took up most of the session, as the women wanted answers to their problems in making decisions and to seek solutions on what to do in certain situations. Noting that the rural woman was not represented in the conference, Magistrate Luma explained to the participants that the conference targeted a particular group of people, the youths, who are also part of the decision-making table and that it is they should take back information to their parents and sponsors.
She regretted that all the women cannot be invited at the same time, and that a lot still needs to be done. She promised all present that before 2007, there will be workshops for the rural woman everywhere in Cameroon, as the rural woman needs to be taken out of her tight schedule and daily problems, to be more informed.
"The first thing to encourage women on is for the importance of being informed, because you cannot make any decisions when you are not informed yourself. She asked the women to participate actively in the 2007elections. For her part, the South West Provincial Delegate of Women Empowerment and the Family, said that the rural woman is given the opportunity during the symposium that holds the day before Women's Day, to be heard and her pleas understood, adding that rural women are being encouraged to be open to information.
Speaking to the press at the end of the conference, Mrs Christy Fomenky of the Buea Court of Appeal, said that the participants were impressed on the increased participation in politics. "From the questions they asked, I realised that they had a lot of concern, some based on actual situations and others on things they do not know. I do realise that this challenge by FIDA to carry out this training is very important," she said.
For her part, Dr Mrs Joyce Endeley, lecturer at the University of Buea, said the challenge is not just to train women on their rights, but includes helping them face a binding female agenda in society, because women are the people with a lot of problems. The fact that we are here does not mean that we are not engaged in a discussion that is beneficial to the rural woman, because from here, FIDA will move to the grassroots level," she said.
Azanui Awa, a student in the University of Buea, confirmed that women need to start making firm decisions, and promised to start by helping his girlfriend in that regard. "If she usually waits for me, I will tell her openly to be assertive and have confidence in herself. I will also tell any girl or woman that they too have a right to make decisions," he said.