Challenges to Women’s Empowerment and Participation in Community Development: State Regulation and Local Praxis in Moghamo, North West Region, Cameroon

Abstract

The major world conferences on women in the past four to five decades have been laden with so much talk about women's empowerment and their role in development as equal partners resulted in most nations committing themselves through the signing of various conventions to henceforth involve them as active partners in the development process and not just passive recipients of its benefits through the trickledown effect. Proponents of women, gender and development theories have consistently purported that women are equal partners in development. It is in this light that the government of Cameroon embarked on the project to empower women and promote their influence in the community in recognition of the pivotal role they play in improving living standards and alleviating poverty, particularly in rural communities which also falls within the overall development plan for the nation. With this plan in mind, the government has set up structures, coupled with the activities of international and national stakeholders to train and develop skills of the rural women to participate in improving the living standard in the community. Some of these good will programmes can be seen in the policy framework directed toward women (MINADER 2006). Despite attempts made to improve on the socioeconomic status of the women as stipulated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the inputs from various stakeholders like the government, development agents and other partners, much is yet to be realised after the midterm evaluation of 2015. Given that women form half or the greater part of the population, Mustapha (2014) asserts that no any nation can prosper if half of its resources (women) are neglected. Cameroon's constitution upholds the principle of gender equality. However, a complex legal system comprising a mix of Napoleonic code and common law as well as customary and written law do exist. These sometimes act as obstacles to women's empowerment and participation in community development. Regarding the position of women visa -vis customs and traditions, there are numerous views within various brands of feminism, including radical feminism, liberal feminism, Marxist or socialist feminism, black feminism, and post-modern or post structura list feminism. All views agree that gender inequality and oppression of women are real problems which need to be remedied. One key concept developed by feminists is patriarchy, which they identify as an obstacle to women's empowerment and participation in community development. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2010 opines that while there has been significant progress towards achieving gender equality, across the world, many women continue to face