Abstract

Single motherhood is a rising trend in Cameroon, with a significant percentage of households headed by women. With little support from the state or society, this group of mothers faces many challenges in raising their children.

This study aimed to explore the challenges of single motherhood for women in Mile 16 Buea. Specifically, the study sought to examine the emotional challenges, social challenges, and economic challenges faced by single motherhood and the coping strategies employed by these single mothers to overcome these challenges of the single mothers in Mile 16, Buea. The study made use of a descriptive survey design to sample 30 participants using purposively simple random sampling using a structured questionnaire.

Collected data were analysed descriptively using frequency and percentage distribution in SPSS (25.0). The study found that the lack of financial support, social stigma, limited access to education and healthcare, and the absence of a paternal figure were the primary challenges faced by single mothers. These challenges have far-reaching consequences, ranging from poor health outcomes to the inability to provide basic needs, which can adversely affect the physical, emotional, and cognitive development of their children.

The study however, revealed that single mothers have developed some coping strategies that enable them to become the issues they faced in society, these are not limited to seeking help and support from friends, family members and relatives, spiritual help from the church and Support from NGOs and community groups.

The study recommends that the government, civil society, and the private sector must work together to provide a more supportive environment for single mothers to raise their children. Strategies such as providing financial and social support, access to education and healthcare, and the implementation of policies that protect women’s rights can significantly reduce the challenges faced by single mothers and improve the lives of both mothers and children.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

A single parent is a parent who cares for children without the assistance of other parents in the home. According to local laws of different nations or regions, single parenting is a two-way street, the custodial parent could be either that mother or the father, however, because of the role nature has bestowed upon women, most times, mothers are given custody of the children (Olaleye and Oladeji, 2010).

Historically, in the 1970s and 1980s, most single-parent families were the result of divorce. In the early 2000s, more and more single parent never married and was the primary contributors to single-parent families in the world. Single parents in India are mainly women who are Widows Kotwal and Prabhakar, 2009). In Cameroon also the above three causes of single mothers exist.

The single mother who is never married includes women becoming single mothers before marriage.  Women may set out to have a baby with the intention of raising it alone or involuntarily when mothers are having babies in the hope that the men agree to a marriage. Besides, women may give birth out of social peer pressure when they are accused of being barren. Therefore, they tricked a man just to get pregnant and prove they are fertile (Kotwal and Prabhakar, 2009).

Single parenthood often comes with social risks like poverty, material deprivation and challenging work-life balance. Single parenthood also comes with concerns about the next generation suffering possible disadvantages due to the developmental and well-being challenges for the children (Nieuwenhuis and Maldonado, 2019). As such, it is no surprise that single parents are often at the centre of policy debates and can be considered as a “litmus test” of efficient social protection (Horemans and Marx, 2018).

Another factor that can be of importance for single mothers in many parts of the world is stigmatization. Stigmatization is often associated with children of single mothers, and at times exposes these children to a greater risk of being bullied, which may affect their academic performance (Ajzenstadt, 2009). The level of stigma may vary between different contexts and can affect children differently depending on the country.

Globally, in the United States (U.S.), out of about 11 million single-parent families with children under 18, 80% were headed by single mothers (United States Census Bureau, 2020). In Europe, Britain’s September 2019 statistics showed that a quarter of families with dependent children were headed by single parents and 90 per cent of that number was women with an average age of 39. On the other hand, in the Asian continent, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics reported that the number of single mothers inclined to 10.8% from 9.1% in 2014, and divorce applications increased by 34% in the past seven years (The Economist, 2019). It is to be noted that women in both developed and underdeveloped countries suffer because of single parenting. However, women in developed countries suffer differently than those in underdeveloped countries because of their circumstances. A single mother in a developed country predominantly suffers from economic hardship. Australia, the USA, and other Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Norway, have the higher rate of lowest income group of single mothers, (Crabtree & Kluch, 2020).

In underdeveloped countries, for example, sub-Saharan Africa, single mothers face the highest poverty rate. These women tend to have a shorter life expectancy and more children; consequently, they spend much of their lives raising children (Crabtree and Kluch, 2020). In Africa, precisely in Nigeria, a 2014 cross-sectional study indicated that no fewer than one million women aged 20 to 85 years were either divorced or separated from their husbands, while 1.7 million were widowed. According to  Myers  (2012), research conducted in some counties of  Liberia suggests that about 95.0% of Liberian women in the country are single mothers. Cameroon, like other sub-Saharan countries, is experiencing a steady growth in out-of-wedlock motherhood, which resulted from marital instability, widowhood or personal choice. These have resulted in a large number of single-parent mothers catering to families across the country.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

One of the major challenges faced by single mothers in society is that they do not receive enough support to maintain the standard of living the family is accustomed to having after a divorce (Zufan, 2021). Another societal challenge of single mothers is that they turn to have less time at home since they are charged with playing the role of both parents for their kids.

According to Khan et al (2022), another significant challenge faced mainly by most single mothers is economic hardship. In addition, socio-cultural stigmatization causes psychological problems such as coping with child-rearing. Child-rearing for single parents becomes more difficult because of responsibility, tasks, and emotional overload; these result in problems for the single parent, including loneliness, anxiety, and depression (Kim et al., 2018).

In the Anglophone region of Cameroon, a region plagued with political and civil unrest, the rising number of single mothers is at an alarming rate. Due to the ongoing Anglophone crisis, they have been increases in the number of single mothers arising mostly from the death of their spouse, or through sexual abuse case, or as a result of poverty and lacks good education to educate young women in this region. Mile 16, Buea has become one such community in the Fako division with an alarming rate of single motherhood. From the researcher’s observation, most of these single mothers go through a lot of economic hardships and lack social and emotional support in life. Similarly, very little support from the government is provided to single mothers in these communities. No proper research has been carried out in these communities to find out the experiences and challenges these single women faced and how they can be supported. Thus, this study sought to examine the challenges of single motherhood on women in Mile 16 Buea.

1.3 Research Questions

1.3.1 Main Research Question

What are the challenges of single motherhood for women in Mile 16 Buea?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

1. What are the emotional challenges faced by single motherhood in Mile 16 Buea?
2. What are the social challenges faced by single motherhood in Mile 16 Buea?
3. What are the economic challenges faced by single motherhood in Mile 16 Buea?
4. What are the coping strategies of single mothers in Mile 16, Buea?

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