Abstract

The political participation of Fako women is a crucial prerequisite for the realization of their civil and political rights. Without this fundamental right, they are prone to be absent in politics or to be allocated minor or politically irrelevant and inappropriate positions. Despite Cameroon‘s adherence to international charters and instruments aimed at gender equality in politics and the enactment of national legislation, women are still marginalized in the political front.

This work sets out to examine the level of women‘s representation and participation in party politics and elections and the extent to which Political Stakeholders promote women‘s Political Representation and Participation in Fako Division. Furthermore, the factors which hinder Fako women from participating politically were analyzed among which includes lack of political parties support, self-confidence and patriarchal perception of politics.

The methodology used here is the survey research design; purposive, snowball and convenient sampling. The data was collected both from primary and secondary sources and analyzed using simple reporting format.

The challenges facing Fako women‘s representation and participation in politics are summed up in poverty which can be seen in the low education of women, their inability to belong to Political parties because of party dues, lack of self-confidence, stereotypes among others and the citizen‘s loss of trust in the electoral body and its process.

Recommendations were made to various stakeholders based on the findings with major recommendations to the government being to economically empower women, give more educational scholarships to females as well as revive the Electoral body so her citizens can trust the independence of the system. Also, political parties can adopt the reduction or waiving of candidate fees for women aspirants to encourage more women to present themselves as candidates for public positions.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Political participation is good for democracy, but systematic inequalities in participation beleaguer all democracies. Women‘s rights are based on the principle that as free human beings, women deserve the right to belong to a society where their rights are recognized and protected by the state (ALEXANDRA, 2004). Amongst others, these rights include predominantly the right to fully participate in the political life of their nation since the deficiency, infringement or denunciation of this right is at the core of women‘s struggle for equal and dignified treatment.

It is widely accepted that the ability of a nation to establish a just, equitable and practicable thriving society depends fundamentally on a comprehensive political process as well as the economic activities of that nation (Global Conscience Initiative, 2011). In the emergence of democratic governance, gender prejudice remains one of the most crucial issues in political processes and socio-economic development in nearly all societies of the world (UN Women Cameroon, 2013). Notwithstanding, a few women yet participate in political activities or hold impressively relevant decision making positions in their countries. Looking at the various forms of discrimination intrinsic in gender studies, this study seeks to look at women‘s representation and political participation. Available data on women‘s involvement in politics and positions of power and authority, the ability to make decisions in both public and private sectors and civil societies shows that despite their various efforts, initiatives and operational strategies put in place, they are consistently met by resistance to the advancement of women in positions, professions and fields traditionally dominated by men (Bratton, 1999). This brings into question, the representative nature of existing political structures.

At the international level, the gender gap in parliamentary seat shows that women make up 19.2% in the House of Representatives and 17.8% in the Senate (Inter-parliamentary Union, 2009). This vast gap along gender lines in socio-economic and political processes has given rise to many movements, conventions, acts, theories and declarations from various state governments, international bodies and institutions which are geared towards minimizing the apparent gap. Among these declarations is the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 1979 which tackled issues pertaining to the equal rights and access of women to education, inheritance, credit facilities and opportunities with men. It also endorses the equality of human rights for men and women in societies. In the same vein, it obliged Countries to take actions against the social causes of women‗s inequality; called for the abolition of laws, pigeonhole practices and prejudices that impair the well-being of women (Kinge, 2015). The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the premier international women‘s rights treaty. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1979, by a vote of 130 to none, with ten abstentions. Currently, 187 countries – over 90 per cent of the UN – are parties to CEDAW.

In Cameroon, the General Population and Housing Census (2005) states that women are nearly 50.5% of the estimated population of 19,406,900 inhabitants and the growth rate of the female population from 2005 to 2015 has been 10.1% against 09.9% for males (GPHC, 2010). Women are socioeconomic agents of change required in every single sector of any economy. Even though the situation has improved in several areas of national life, women‘s participation continues to be a cause of concern because of persistent gender inequality in crucial areas such as education, health, economy, politics, and employment amongst other (African Development Bank Group, 2015). In a bid to eliminate these inequalities the Cameroon government has ratified so many international treaties, conventions and laws establishing Human Rights and most importantly the Rights of the woman which embraces a gender perspective to sustainable and equal development.

As stated by Alexandra, Diwouta T. Christele in her book titled the place of women in the political sphere, women in the South-West region of Cameroon are still limited in almost all significant areas of human competence where the status of a woman is always a reflection of the label of cultural views of the woman‗s role in a myopic society being that of childbearing and home management. She has little or no opportunity to explore broader aspirations and achieve her dreams, particularly in the socio-economic and political sector as a result of limiting stereotypical cultural precincts. This has perpetually resulted in the female children given little or no opportunity to further education beyond the secondary level (Alexandra, 2004).

Cameroon women were not given any room in governance from early years due to the productive and reproductive roles allocated to them; but with colonization came the Eurocentric notion of whom and what a woman should be. And this concept relegated women towards the background (Kinge, 2015).Women‘s invisibility in public life was further exacerbated by the fact that men were educated and prepared for administrative functions, while women even those who went to school were prepared to be better housewives.

The foreword of cash crop economy and the fact that only those who could afford to pay taxes could participate in leadership through the election of counselors into the Native Authority, hindered women‘s knack to take part in public life. This British Colonial Administration lasted in Cameroon for almost 40 years from 1922 to 1961, and till 1951, Cameroonians did not take part or participate in any elections. It is imperative to note that the Cameroon woman obtained the right to vote in 1946 but this right was affected with the consciousness that women can only vote men into office.

In Bamenda – the capital city of Northwest Cameroon, during 1951 the South West and South East Native Authorities allowed for special representatives of women‘s interests on the councils, where four women participated in the first and three in the latter (Adams, 2006). These representatives however did not participate on the same terms with men, given that they represented only women‘s interest and couldn’t talk on behalf of the entire community.

In addition to women legislative body, there was also a woman appointed as a court member in the Tiko Council in 1957. According to British reports on Cameroon, the populace of the country continued to make use of women as midwives, female teachers and some female secretarial staff (Asian Press Institute, 2014). Although women‘s presence increased in public governance, it was still limited to a high extent in the fact that the men were more educated and furthermore, political participation was linked to tax payment and only very few women owned businesses and hence most women couldn‘t afford to pay taxes. Nonetheless, women gained greater access to political participation following the adoption of the December 1957 Southern Cameroons Electoral Regulations. This Electoral policy gave women the right to take part in an election (exercising their suffrage) without the taxation requirement that had restricted them in the past. In 1959 general assembly, women gained the right to vote and voted for the first time. They equally participated in the 1961 plebiscite elections which led to the reunification of Southern Cameroon to East Cameroon (Asian Press Institute, 2014).

The 1972 referendum changed Cameroon from a federal system to a unitary system of government. In French Cameroon, the colonial High Commissioner took charge of local government in a bid to have more authority over the natives of the land. And this style of governance also reached the British part of Cameroon to some extent which further affected women‘s participation. Even after independence, women‘s participation in governance did not still improve.

To involve more women in the political scene, the National Council of Cameroonian Women – an apolitical organization for women created in 1960, was designated as the Women‘s wing for the Cameroon National Union [CNU] and renamed as WNCU (Asian Press Institute, 2014). Women‘s Cameroon National Union was made up of an emerging professional group of women whose aim was not to abandon their role of being women but to assert the power of being female. According to Goheen, 1996 in her book ‗Men own the field, Women own the crop: Gender and Power in Cameroon, she stated that the WNCU emphasized women‘s obligation to their family and stressed the need for women to be subservient to men socially. Following this new development, eventually more women began to take interest and came forward to take over responsibilities apart from being mere wives and mothers, and to be actively involved in the governance of their country.

Until the 1980s, the percentage of women in the National Assembly remained below 5% (Kinge, 2015). In 1997, the percentage of women in political leadership in Cameroon stood at 5%; from 2002-2005 it stood at 10% and 2008-2010 it stood at 13%. Specifically in 2008 only 10 of the 180 members of the National Assembly were women. There are only 6 female mayors of the 30 mayors in the South West region of Cameroon. There has never been a woman Governor from any region neither has there been any woman Attorney General. For the particular case of the South West region, apart from the fact that there has never been a female governor, the number of female councilors stood at 154 out of 877 from 2003-2007 (Kinge, 2015). This low representation of women at different branches of government is at odds with the anticipations of Article 25 and 26 of the covenant of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. It is also at variance with the Beijing Platform of Actions target of a minimum of 30% women representation in political institutions in world societies (Montemarano, 2O11).

The appointment of a new President into the Presidential seat of power in 1982 resulted in new political reform in the country. Hence in 1990, series of laws were enacted in a bid to endorse democracy and good governance leading to the first democratic elections in Cameroon which took place in 1996. Many analysts viewed these elections as a significant benchmark in the evolution from a one-party system rule to real, authentic democracy. In the 2007 municipal and council elections, the total number of electors registered stood at 4, 940, 203 including 1, 729, 563 registered women and 3, 210, 640 men (Elecam, 2007).

The total number of electors registered in 2011 stood at 7, 525, 532 which included 3,

853, 208 women and 3, 537, 047 men (Mufua, 2014). A notable increase was experiential in the number of registered women that year, when measured up to previous municipal elections of 2002 – 2007, the total number of councilors stood at 9,963; 8303 men and 1661 women [13.1%]. In 2002, out of the 337 mayors that were elected, only 10 were women; however in 2007, out of 339 mayors 23 were women representing a fraction of 4.5% and 5% respectively

(Mufua, 2014)

The presence of women in democratic governance has evenly led to some considerable gains for the woman folks in general. For example in the 2007 – 2012 mandate, the Tombel Council which was headed by a woman embarked on projects such as the building of schools, health facilities, toilets and boreholes for water. Thus statistics point to the fact that a slight increase has been made in women‘s representation in local governance and Cameroon is yet to reach the desired quota advocated for at the international level (Mufua, 2014).

In the National arena with the amendment of the 1972 Constitution in 1996 and 2008 respectively, it established the principle of equality. The April 19, 2012 Electoral Code, states that ‗Each list of candidates must take into consideration – various sociological components of the constituency concerned – gender aspects‘ (Sect. 171, (3) (National Assembly, 2012).

The 2012 Electoral code, gives no room for the tactical representation of women in the different elective positions. Gender considerations in the composition of the candidatures list did not assume compulsory zebra list which creates room for both sex to alternate. Moreover, gender consideration doesn‘t automatically solve the issue of equal participation of women and men in electoral mandates and functions. Despite this, women continued to gain access to leadership structures though at a very slow to moderate pace throughout the past years. And this resulted in history with the Cameroonian Women taking a step forward (Mufua, 2014).

A law was approved on the Electoral Code of Cameroon in April2012, which was amended and supplemented by another bill passed later in December 2012, as a result of which gender issues became a legal prerequisite in the compilation of all candidate lists for the municipal, legislative, regional and Senate elections (UN Women Cameroon, 2013).

The need for women‘s representation in all spheres of society is acknowledged at the highest level. The preamble of the constitution of Cameroon ensures equality of all citizens before the law. In justification of that, President Paul Biya rightly pointed out in the preamble of the Vision 2035 that:

‘In the area of women empowerment, I commit myself to ensure the preparation and implementation of the special action program for women’s empowerment… I will make sure your work is recognized and valued everywhere; I will make sure you are represented in all governing bodies of the country. I’m committed to making equality between men and women a reality’ (Cameroon vision by 2035, 2009).

This pledge, in line with the 1996 Cameroon Constitution, resulted in the consolidation of the rule of law, and also in the enhancement of institutional mechanisms for the advancement and protection of Women‘s and Family rights. The Head of States vision aims to build a harmonious, stable, and prosperous society, concerned with equality between women and men and the conservation of peace.

According to history, the 9th legislature of Cameroon (2013 – 2018) has seen a noteworthy increase of women‘s representation in the lower house of parliament with 59 seats out of 180. After being formally recognized as elected parliamentarians, these women are further faced with the task of promoting women‘s agenda.

For long, women had criticized the male-dominated parliament for not taking women‘s issues and concerns seriously and for violating the women‘s right to participation, by not giving them a chance to be part of governance. The concerted efforts of national and international organizations as well as the civil society have made the big dream of women reaching the 30% quota as advocated in the Beijing Platform for Action come true in Cameroon (Asian Press Institute, 2014).

But there is this big challenge whether the critical mass of women in the Cameroon parliament would be translated to essential acts? Would party politics keep them away from facing the common enemy ‗Patriarchy‘whose ultimate goal is to subjugate and dominate its subjects?

1.2 Statement of Problem

Despite making up 52% of the adult population in Cameroon, women account for less than half of registered voters, according to figures released by the elections management body, ELECAM (Voice of Africa, 2017). In Cameroon, women are underrepresented on voter rolls and in decision-making circles from village councils to parliament and this fact are true in the Fako Division of the South-West Region.

About one-third of seats in the National Assembly are held by women and Cameroon has just 31 female mayors out of the total 360 in the country. According to Municipal Development Counseling Group 2013, the Fako Division in the South-West Region of Cameroon has never produced a female governor, and has had only 154 out of 877 councilors which are barely 18% (MUDEC, 2006). It is unclear if this problem is related to the lack of awareness by women on the laws prescribing their political participation in the country. It necessitates the assessment of the existing political structure which this study seeks to examine.

From studies, the male-dominated political scene in Fako could account for the lack of female involvement in policy-making. Although there has been noteworthy progress towards an equitable political representation, men still hold more share of political authority and female leadership are absent at the highest level of Cameroon governance (Goheen, 1996). The danger of excluding women in government is an inefficient use of human resources and is the reason why the plight of women is not heard in the national sphere which leads to the weakening of democracy and hindering of national development.

1.3 Objectives of Study

1.3.1 Main Objective

The main objective of this study is to investigate the level of Fako women‘s representation and participation in political development.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

1. To investigate the level of women‘s representation and participation in party politics and elections in the Fako Division
2. To examine the extent to which Political Stakeholders promote women‘s Political Representation and Participation in Fako Division
3. To determine factors which hinder women‘s political participation in the Fako Division

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