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Decolonising Sexual Health: Why African Women Must Have the Right to Sexual Pleasure Without Shame

Sexual health is more than disease prevention. It includes dignity, bodily autonomy, informed choices and the freedom to discuss sexual wellbeing without shame.

Beyond contraception, HIV prevention and maternal healthcare, sexual and reproductive health must also recognise pleasure, intimacy, bodily autonomy and the right to fulfilling relationships.

For decades, conversations about women’s sexual and reproductive health have largely focused on preventing, reducing and protecting (preventing unwanted pregnancies, preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), reducing maternal deaths and protecting women from sexual violence). These priorities are essential, and the investments made in these areas have saved lives.

But there is another conversation we urgently need to have: who is talking about women’s sexual pleasure, and why are so many women still afraid to talk about it themselves?

The recent debate on decolonising global sexual health challenges us to reconsider whose knowledge matters, who sets research and funding priorities, and whose experiences are left out of the picture. For those of us working on gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Cameroon and across Africa, this conversation must also confront the cultural norms that silence women’s sexual needs.

We cannot continue to talk about women’s sexual health as though it were only about reproduction, disease prevention and protection from harm. Women are not simply bodies to be protected from pregnancy, infection or violence. They are human beings with feelings, desires, preferences, questions and the right to make informed decisions about their own bodies.

If sexual health is about wellbeing, why does women’s pleasure remain such an uncomfortable subject in so many of our communities?

When a woman cannot say, “I am not sexually satisfied”

In many communities, talking openly about women’s sexual pleasure remains taboo. A woman who expresses dissatisfaction in her sexual relationship may be accused of being promiscuous, unfaithful or morally deficient. Some are labelled prostitutes simply because they dare to communicate that their sexual needs are not being met.

Consider the woman who has been married for years but has never felt comfortable telling her husband that their sexual relationship is unsatisfying. She may fear that he will interpret her concerns as an insult to his masculinity, an accusation of inadequacy or evidence that she has been sexually involved with someone else.

What happens when she cannot speak without risking humiliation, conflict, abandonment or divorce?

Too often, she remains silent.

This silence is reinforced by gender expectations that normalise male sexual desire while requiring women to be modest, submissive and unquestioning. Women may be expected to satisfy their partners without being encouraged to understand, express or negotiate their own needs.

Yet sexual relationships involve two people. Both deserve respect, care, consent and the opportunity to communicate honestly.

Sexual dissatisfaction can arise for many reasons, including difficulties with arousal or orgasm, painful intercourse, mismatched levels of desire, stress, health conditions, medication, emotional disconnection or a lack of communication. These experiences are not unusual, and they do not automatically mean that a relationship has failed.

What makes the situation worse is when couples have nowhere to turn, do not know what help is available, or believe that discussing their difficulties is shameful.

A woman should not have to choose between her dignity and her marriage simply because she wants to talk about her sexual wellbeing.

The uncomfortable conversation about infidelity

We must also be willing to discuss infidelity honestly, without moralising women’s experiences or suggesting that sexual dissatisfaction inevitably leads to betrayal.

Unmet sexual needs may be one of several factors contributing to some extramarital relationships. Emotional disconnection, relationship conflict, a desire for validation, opportunity, individual circumstances and many other factors may also play a role. Women are not a homogeneous group, and there is no single explanation for infidelity.

Nevertheless, we should listen when women describe seeking intimacy or sexual fulfilment elsewhere because they feel unable to communicate their needs within their relationships.

When a woman has been taught that asking for pleasure is shameful, proposing professional counselling is an insult, and discussing sexual difficulties could threaten her marriage, she may seek answers in secrecy rather than through open communication or healthcare.

For some, these encounters can expose them to risks they were not adequately prepared to negotiate. Women who lack access to reliable information, contraception, STI prevention services or the power to insist on safer sex may face sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancies and emotional distress. Some also experience guilt, fear, anxiety and psychological trauma.

These consequences should concern us as a public health and gender equality issue.

This is not about excusing infidelity, encouraging extramarital relationships or blaming men for women’s choices. Nor should sexual dissatisfaction ever be used to justify coercion, violence or deception. It is about acknowledging that silencing conversations about sexuality does not make sexual needs disappear.

We cannot prevent harm effectively if we refuse to discuss the realities that shape people’s sexual decisions.

Rather than condemning women for having needs, we should create conditions in which couples can communicate, seek appropriate support and make informed choices before dissatisfaction develops into a source of secrecy, conflict or harm.

Sexology: the missing conversation in sexual healthcare

One of the gaps in public understanding of sexual health is the limited awareness of the professionals who can help people address sexual difficulties.

Many people know they can consult a doctor for physical pain, a cardiologist for heart problems or a psychologist for emotional distress. Far fewer understand that sexual difficulties can also be discussed with appropriately qualified professionals.

Sexology is the study of human sexuality. Depending on the country and the professional’s qualifications, support may be available through sexual medicine specialists, qualified sex therapists, gynaecologists, urologists, psychologists and other trained healthcare providers.

These professionals may help individuals and couples address concerns such as painful intercourse, difficulties with arousal or orgasm, erectile dysfunction, changes in sexual desire, anxiety about sexual performance, and the effects of illness, medication, ageing or trauma on intimacy.

The appropriate professional depends on the concern. Some difficulties require medical assessment, while others may benefit from psychological support, relationship counselling or a combination of approaches.

Yet how many couples in our communities know that they can seek such support?

How many women understand that persistent pain during intercourse is a legitimate health concern rather than something they must endure? How many men know that changes in erectile function can warrant medical assessment rather than ridicule or silence? How many couples realise that asking for professional help does not mean their relationship has failed?

I am particularly concerned about the experiences of women who have suggested consulting a sexologist or another qualified professional, only to face threats of divorce or abandonment from their partners.

Think about what this means. A woman proposes seeking help to improve intimacy, understand a health concern or strengthen her relationship, yet her suggestion is interpreted as an attack.

When the mere idea of seeking professional assistance becomes a threat to a woman’s security, the problem extends beyond sexual health. It becomes a question of gender inequality, power and the freedom to seek healthcare without intimidation.

We need public education that makes sexual healthcare more visible, accessible and acceptable. Couples should know where to seek confidential support and understand that sexual difficulties are not moral failures.

Seeking help should be treated as a responsible step towards wellbeing, not as an admission of shame.

What happens when sexual functioning changes with age?

Another conversation we rarely have openly concerns sexual pleasure as people grow older or experience changes in their health.

Sexual functioning can change with age, illness, medication, hormonal changes, disability and other circumstances. Men may experience changes in erectile function or sexual desire. Women may experience menopause-related symptoms, vaginal dryness, discomfort during intercourse or changes in desire and arousal.

These changes do not necessarily end the possibility of intimacy or pleasure.

Yet, in some communities, there is little room to discuss how couples can adapt when conventional sexual intercourse becomes difficult or when one partner’s sexual functioning changes.

Sexual aids, including vibrators and other devices, may be one option for some consenting adults. Appropriate use can help some people explore pleasure or adapt to particular health circumstances. They are not necessary or suitable for everyone, and their use should be informed by individual preferences, consent and relevant health considerations.

Nevertheless, mentioning sexual aids can provoke discomfort or condemnation. Some people view them as immoral or assume that their use means a partner is inadequate.

Why should adults be denied access to reliable information about consensual options for sexual wellbeing simply because the subject makes others uncomfortable?

The purpose is not to prescribe how people should experience pleasure. It is to ensure that they can make informed choices without shame or misinformation.

A person’s worth is not defined by sexual performance. A couple’s intimacy needs not end when their bodies change. And seeking alternatives to address sexual difficulties should not automatically be treated as a threat to a relationship.

We need to create room for these conversations in health education, counselling and community engagement.

Decolonising sexual health must also challenge patriarchal silence

The call to decolonise global sexual health is important because it challenges unequal research relationships, funding structures and the assumption that knowledge and expertise flow primarily from wealthy countries to the rest of the world.

But decolonisation must mean more than changing who delivers programmes while leaving the same narrow assumptions about sexuality untouched.

The sexual and reproductive health agenda has often concentrated on measurable outcomes such as contraceptive uptake, HIV prevention and maternal mortality. These remain vital. However, programmes that fail to consider intimacy, sexual communication, bodily autonomy and pleasure risk presenting an incomplete picture of sexual wellbeing.

At the same time, we must recognise that harmful silences are not the product of one influence alone. Colonial histories, imported moral frameworks, patriarchal traditions, religious interpretations, economic inequalities and contemporary social expectations interact in complex ways. African communities are diverse, and our cultures should neither be romanticised as uniformly liberating nor dismissed as uniformly oppressive.

Decolonising sexual health means asking difficult questions about both external power and internal inequalities.

It means questioning why communities affected by sexual health challenges are often treated primarily as recipients of interventions rather than as producers of knowledge and designers of solutions.

It also means asking why women may be expected to protect their reproductive health while being discouraged from discussing their sexual experiences.

The World Health Organization’s working definition of sexual health offers an important foundation for this conversation. It describes sexual health as physical, emotional, mental and social wellbeing in relation to sexuality, going beyond the absence of disease or dysfunction. It also recognises the possibility of pleasurable and safe sexual experiences free from coercion, discrimination and violence.

This understanding reinforces a point we must not overlook: sexual health is about wellbeing, dignity, respect and rights, not simply the prevention of negative outcomes.

African-led research, community knowledge, women’s lived experiences and rigorous scientific evidence must all contribute to how we understand and address sexual health.

We must be able to challenge harmful cultural practices without rejecting our identities, and embrace scientific advances without assuming that solutions must always originate elsewhere.

What needs to change?

If we are serious about advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, we must move beyond acknowledging that pleasure matters and begin translating that recognition into practical action.

1. Expand comprehensive sexuality education.

Sexuality education should address more than reproduction, abstinence and disease prevention. Age-appropriate, evidence-based education should cover consent, healthy relationships, communication, bodily autonomy, sexual functioning, pleasure, contraception and STI prevention. It must promote respect and safety without shaming people for asking questions.

2. Make sexual healthcare visible and accessible.

Health ministries, healthcare providers, universities, Civil Society Organizations and professional associations should help the public understand where to seek support for sexual difficulties. Healthcare workers need training to discuss these issues sensitively and to refer patients to appropriately qualified professionals. Confidentiality, affordability and non-discrimination are essential.

3. Encourage honest conversations between partners.

Community dialogues, relationship education and counselling can help challenge the belief that talking about sexual dissatisfaction is an attack on masculinity or evidence of relationship failure. Partners should be encouraged to communicate with mutual respect, listen without humiliation and seek help when needed.

However, communication must never be used to pressure women to remain in unsafe relationships. No one should be forced to engage in sexual activity or remain in a relationship to protect another person’s reputation.

4. Invest in African-led research on sexual wellbeing.

We need research that asks women themselves what sexual wellbeing means to them, what prevents them from seeking help and what kinds of services they trust. This research should include diverse age groups, rural and urban communities, people with disabilities and different socioeconomic circumstances.

Community organisations and researchers should work together to develop ethical, confidential and culturally responsive approaches. Women must have a meaningful role in defining research priorities, interpreting findings and shaping interventions.

5. Address unequal power and barriers to pleasurable sex.

Sexual pleasure cannot be separated from consent, bodily autonomy and the ability to negotiate protection. Women who depend economically on their partners or fear abandonment may find it difficult to insist on condoms, contraception or other protective measures.

Programmes must therefore address gender inequality and economic vulnerability alongside sexual health education. Women need access to information, services and support that strengthen their ability to make decisions without coercion.

6. Shift funding and decision-making towards local expertise.

Funders and international organisations should support African institutions, researchers and community-led organisations to define sexual health priorities and develop solutions grounded in local realities. Funding should allow communities to investigate questions that matter to them, including questions about pleasure, intimacy, ageing and relationship wellbeing.

Decolonisation must change not only the language of global health but also who controls resources, whose evidence is valued and whose priorities receive attention.

What this means for PaWED-IATC and the wider SRHR movement

For PaWED-IATC and other African organisations working at the intersection of gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender-based violence prevention, this conversation presents an opportunity to broaden our advocacy.

We must continue fighting for access to contraception, safe maternal healthcare, HIV prevention and treatment, comprehensive sexuality education, and protection from sexual and gender-based violence. But we should also create space to discuss the questions that are often left unspoken.

Can a woman tell her partner that she is not sexually satisfied without fearing humiliation or abandonment? Can a couple seek professional help for sexual difficulties without being treated as immoral? Can women access reliable information about their bodies and sexual health at different stages of life? Can researchers and policymakers listen to women’s experiences without imposing assumptions about what they should want or how they should live?

These are legitimate questions for sexual and reproductive health advocacy.

PaWED-IATC can contribute by supporting community dialogues, promoting accessible information about sexual healthcare, engaging healthcare professionals, strengthening partnerships with African researchers and advocating for women’s participation in shaping sexual health policies and programmes.

Our approach must remain evidence-based, survivor-centred and respectful of individual choices. Not every woman prioritises sexual pleasure, and no single model of sexuality should be imposed on everyone. Some women choose abstinence; others are asexual; others define intimacy in ways that do not centre sexual activity. Their choices deserve equal respect.

The goal is not to tell women what their sexuality should look like. It is to ensure that women can understand their options, make informed decisions and seek support without fear, coercion or discrimination.

From surviving sexuality to experiencing wellbeing

For generations, too many women have been taught to endure rather than communicate, submit rather than negotiate, and remain silent rather than seek help.

We must challenge the idea that a woman’s sexual needs are shameful, that a man’s sexual difficulties cannot be discussed, or that seeking professional support threatens the integrity of a relationship.

Sexual pleasure is not a substitute for preventing HIV, reducing maternal mortality, expanding contraceptive access or ending sexual violence. It is one dimension of a broader understanding of sexual health that includes physical, emotional, mental and social wellbeing.

Nor should women’s worth be measured by whether they experience pleasure in a particular way. The point is that they should have the freedom, information and support to define their own wellbeing.

Decolonising sexual health requires us to question who sets the agenda, whose knowledge informs policy and whose experiences remain invisible. It also requires us to confront the cultural silences and unequal power relations that prevent women from speaking about their bodies, their relationships and their health.

African women deserve more than protection from sexual harm. They deserve dignity, bodily autonomy, access to trustworthy information, compassionate healthcare and the freedom to make informed choices about their own lives.

If sexual health is truly about wellbeing, then women’s pleasure cannot remain an embarrassing footnote. It must be part of the conversation.

Because sexual health without women’s voices is incomplete, and sexual rights without meaningful autonomy remain only partially realised.

Disclaimer: This article is an advocacy and thought-leadership contribution to public discussion on sexual and reproductive health and rights. It reflects the author’s analysis and does not necessarily represent an officially adopted position of every PaWED–IATC partner or stakeholder.

From Commemoration to Action: Parliament, government, the United Nations, Civil Society and the Imperative to Invest in Peace in Cameroon

By PaWED-IATC Insights
International Day of Peace 2026

Peace is more than the absence of war.

It is the ability of a woman to live without fear of violence. It is a child being able to go to school safely. It is a displaced family having access to basic services and the possibility of rebuilding its life. It is a young person believing that their voice matters. It is a citizen being able to participate meaningfully in democratic processes and trust that institutions will listen.

These reflections were at the heart of the high-level parliamentary dialogue convened in Cameroon to commemorate the 2026 International Day of Peace, under the theme “Investing in Peace for All, Everywhere, Every Day.”

The dialogue brought together members of the National Assembly and Senate, government representatives, civil society organizations, the United Nations and other national and international stakeholders to explore how peace can become a lived reality rather than an annual declaration.

PaWED-IATC was invited as part of the broader Cameroon civil society ecosystem working across the different thematic areas addressed during the dialogue, including peacebuilding, gender-based violence/femicide, women’s rights, justice, inclusion and community-level action.

For us, one message stood out clearly:

Cameroon does not only need to speak about peace. Cameroon needs to invest in the institutions, people, laws and systems that make peace possible.

Parliament and the institutionalization of peace

One of the most significant discussions was the recognition that Parliament has a central role to play in building and sustaining peace. Its responsibility goes beyond passing legislation. Through its four core functions, legislation, oversight, representation and budgetary control, Parliament can influence the conditions that either prevent conflict or allow grievances to deepen. This means developing laws that promote social cohesion and prevent violence; holding government accountable for the implementation and impact of peace initiatives; listening to communities; and ensuring that national resources are directed towards the places and people most affected by conflict. The discussions called for a shift from simply asking:

“What has government done?”

to asking:

“What has changed in people’s lives?”

That shift is fundamental.

A rehabilitated school is important. But are children actually back in school? A budget allocation matters. But did the resources reach the intended community? A peace programme may be launched. But has trust between communities and institutions improved?

Peacebuilding requires answers to these questions.

Peace must be built from the community upward

The dialogue also highlighted the importance of local dialogue, decentralization and community participation.

Parliamentarians were encouraged to become peace sentinels within their constituencies, listening to communities, engaging traditional and religious leaders, and creating spaces where women, youth, displaced persons and other marginalized groups can express their concerns.

Conflict prevention cannot always wait for a crisis to reach Yaoundé.

Grievances often begin locally. So must many of the solutions.

Regular consultations with communities, schools, traditional authorities, religious institutions and civil society can help identify tensions before they become violence. Local dialogue can also rebuild trust between citizens and state institutions. This is particularly important in conflict-affected areas where years of insecurity have weakened social cohesion and confidence in institutions.

Elections must be an opportunity for peace, not another source of tension

With legislative and municipal elections approaching, electoral peace emerged as another major priority. Participants raised concerns about electoral accessibility, declining participation in conflict-affected areas, weaknesses in the electoral framework and unequal political representation. The call was therefore made for comprehensive electoral reform and greater political consensus.

Among the proposals were:

  • a national pact for peaceful elections;
  • a code of conduct against hate speech;
  • parliamentary peace teams across the ten regions;
  • stronger local parliamentary engagement;
  • improved electoral accessibility; and
  • review of aspects of the electoral framework that may contribute to tension and exclusion.

The underlying message was simple:

Elections should be a democratic celebration, not a preparation for conflict.

Gender-based violence is a peace and security issue

Perhaps one of the strongest connections emerging from the discussions was between gender-based violence and peacebuilding.

Violence against women and girls, including rape, domestic violence, femicide, infanticide and sexual harassment cannot be treated as isolated incidents.

They are indicators of deeper inequalities, failures of protection and weaknesses in justice and accountability systems.

When women and girls cannot live safely, society cannot claim to be at peace.

The dialogue therefore called for stronger legal and institutional measures to prevent and respond to violence against women and children. Participants also highlighted the need for accessible survivor-centred services, including shelters, emergency support, mobile clinics, legal assistance, referral mechanisms and confidential reporting systems.

The need for a functional toll-free GBV helpline and strengthened capacity of police, gendarmerie and other frontline personnel was also emphasized.

The pending legal reforms: an opportunity for change

The intervention of the Minister of Justice brought renewed attention to ongoing legal reforms addressing violence against women and children.

Discussions highlighted efforts to explicitly recognize femicide and infanticide in the legal framework, alongside reforms addressing sexual harassment and inconsistencies concerning the minimum age of marriage.

The issue is bigger than terminology.

Recognizing femicide in law can contribute to visibility, accountability and public understanding of the gendered nature of killings of women. Similarly, closing legal loopholes and harmonizing legislation can strengthen protection and reduce opportunities for impunity.

For civil society organizations, this creates an important opportunity to continue providing evidence, documenting lived experiences, engaging policymakers and advocating for legislation that is comprehensive, enforceable and survivor-centred.

Budgets are also peacebuilding tools

An important but sometimes overlooked message from the dialogue was that peace requires money.

Peacebuilding cannot depend solely on political speeches or declarations.

Parliamentary budgetary control can be used to examine whether national resources are reaching communities affected by conflict and whether investments are reducing inequality and vulnerability.

Participants proposed conflict-sensitive budget analysis and stronger monitoring of reconstruction expenditure.

This includes asking:

  • Which communities are benefiting?
  • Are the most vulnerable receiving adequate support?
  • Are women and young people benefiting?
  • Are schools, health facilities, roads and water systems being restored?
  • Are jobs being created?
  • Are communities involved in decisions affecting them?
  • What measurable peace outcomes are being achieved?

Equal spending does not necessarily produce equitable outcomes.

Communities that have experienced greater destruction and deprivation may require greater investment to achieve meaningful recovery.

Young people and children must be part of the peace equation

The launch of the “Academic for the Peace by the Peace” initiative reinforced another critical point: peacebuilding must begin early.

Conflict has disrupted education in affected regions, leaving schools closed or destroyed, teachers displaced and children deprived of safe learning environments.

Peace education therefore cannot be an optional addition.

Children and young people need opportunities to understand conflict, develop dialogue and mediation skills, challenge hate and exclusion, and become active participants in building peaceful communities.

Youth should not be seen only as beneficiaries of peace programmes. They are actors and partners in peacebuilding.

The role of civil society: from participation to accountability

The participation of PaWED-IATC alongside other civil society actors reflects the important role of Cameroon’s CSO ecosystem in shaping national conversations on peace, justice and inclusion.

Civil society brings something essential to these discussions, proximity to communities and the ability to document realities that may not always appear in official statistics.

Organizations working on women’s rights, GBV, peacebuilding, justice, humanitarian response, youth empowerment and community development can help connect national commitments to local realities.

For PaWED-IATC, this means continuing to contribute to the evidence base, amplify community voices, support survivor-centred approaches and advocate for policies and laws that advance peace, gender justice and human dignity.

It also means strengthening collaboration among civil society organizations so that advocacy is coordinated, evidence-based and connected to the lived experiences of communities.

From declaration to implementation

The 2026 International Day of Peace dialogue offered an important platform for reflection. But the real measure of its success will not be the quality of the speeches delivered or the number of commitments recorded.

It will be what happens next.

Will the proposed electoral reforms move forward?

Will the pending GBV and femicide legislation receive the attention it deserves?

Will parliamentary oversight become more focused on measurable impact?

Will resources reach conflict-affected communities?

Will women, youth, displaced persons and marginalized groups have meaningful seats at the table?

Will survivors of violence receive timely, confidential, satisfactory and dignified support?

These are the questions that will determine whether peace is becoming a reality.

A call to invest in peace every day

Cameroon has no shortage of commitments to peace. The challenge is to transform those commitments into laws, budgets, institutions, services and community action.

The parliamentary dialogue demonstrated that there is space for stronger collaboration between Parliament, government, civil society, communities and international partners.

The opportunity now is to move from conversation to implementation.

Because peace is not simply something we commemorate once a year.

Peace is something we build every day.

And building it requires all of us.

About PaWED-IATC

Pathways for Women’s Empowerment and Development/Integrated Agricultural Training Center (PaWED-IATC) is a community-rooted organization working at the intersection of gender justice, GBV prevention and response, women’s empowerment, Women, Peace and Security, SRHR, community development and evidence-based advocacy.

Through its work, PaWED-IATC seeks to ensure that evidence, community voices and lived experiences inform policies and programmes that advance justice, dignity and sustainable peace.

PaWED-IATC Insights shares evidence, reflections and perspectives emerging from the organization’s work and engagement with communities, institutions and partners.

Evidence. Voices. Justice. Change.

FEMICIDE IN CAMEROON: WHEN THE LAW DOES NOT NAME THE KILLING

Why Cameroon must recognize femicide and build a comprehensive framework for prevention, protection, prosecution and reparation

By Wazeh Nicoline Nwenushi Tumasang
PaWED-IATC Insights | Law, Gender & Justice

A woman killed after years of violence is not simply another homicide statistic. Her death may be the fatal culmination of gender-based violence, and the law must be able to see, name and respond to that pattern.

There is a particular kind of silence that follows the gender-related killing of women and girls.

First, there is the silence of the woman or girl who can no longer speak.

Then comes the silence of a family struggling to understand how a daughter, mother, sister, wife or friend was taken from them.

And sometimes there is another silence, the silence of the law when it fails to name the gendered nature of the killing.

This is where Cameroon must begin a difficult but necessary conversation about femicide.

The question is not whether killing a woman is already a crime under Cameroonian law. It is.

The question is whether Cameroon’s criminal justice system adequately recognizes, investigates, records, prosecutes and prevents killings of women and girls that are gender-related or occur within patterns of gender-based violence, discrimination, domination or unequal power relations.

Under Cameroon’s current Penal Code, femicide is not expressly established as a standalone criminal offence. The Penal Code nevertheless criminalizes murder and capital murder and provides a general framework for criminal participation and responsibility (Cameroon, 2016).

THE LAW ALREADY PUNISHES KILLING. SO, WHAT IS THE GAP?

It would be inaccurate to suggest that a woman killed by an intimate partner is without legal protection or that her killer cannot be prosecuted.

Cameroon’s Penal Code criminalizes unlawful killings including Murder (Section 275); Capital Murder (s. 276); Torture (s. 277-3); Assault Occasioning Death (s. 278); and Unintentional Killing (s. 289). (Cameroon Penal Code, 2016).

The killing may be prosecuted, but its gender-related nature is not independently recognized as femicide.

This distinction is particularly important because Cameroon’s criminal law is grounded in the principle of legality. Section 17 expressly provides, that “No penalty or measure may be imposed unless provided by law and except of an offence lawfully defined (Cameroon Penal Code, 2016, s. 17).

A femicide offence therefore cannot simply be created through prosecutorial practice or judicial terminology. If Cameroon wishes to establish femicide as a distinct criminal offence, the elements of that offence must be defined by law.

The central question should therefore become not merely: Who killed her?

But also, was she killed in circumstances revealing gender-based violence, intimate partner relationship, discrimination, domination, control or another gender-related context?

That question should matter to the criminal justice system.

FEMICIDE IS NOT SIMPLY ANOTHER WORD FOR MURDER

Recognizing femicide does not suggest that a woman’s life is more valuable than a man’s life.

Nor does it mean that every killing of a woman should automatically be classified as femicide.

Rather, femicide recognizes gender as a legally relevant dimension of certain killings.

Internationally, the UNODC-UN Women statistical framework defines and classifies gender-related killings of women and girls and identifies the contextual information needed to distinguish such killings. Importantly, the framework can be applied regardless of whether a country’s criminal law uses the term femicide or feminicide (UNODC and UN Women, 2022).

This distinction between legal classification and statistical identification is important for Cameroon.

A country does not have to wait for the creation of a standalone criminal offence before it begins systematically identifying and recording gender-related killings.

But where the State chooses to recognize femicide as a distinct offence, the law can give that recognition additional force within investigation, prosecution, sentencing, data collection and prevention.

Gender-related killings may occur in different contexts, including: intimate-partner violence; family violence; sexual violence; stalking and threats; coercive control; gender or sexual domination; punishment for exercising autonomy; exploitation or trafficking; and other circumstances demonstrating gender-related motive or context.

The legal definition adopted by Cameroon must therefore be sufficiently precise to satisfy the principle of legality while sufficiently comprehensive to capture relevant manifestations of gender-related killing.

WHY NAMING FEMICIDE MATTERS

Legal terminology is not merely a matter of words.

What the law recognizes, the State is better positioned to identify, investigate, count, prosecute and prevent.

UNODC and UN Women have emphasized that gender-related killings are often not consistently recorded as such and that better data are essential for evidence-based prevention and effective criminal justice responses (UNODC and UN Women, 2022).

When gender-related killings are absorbed into generic homicide categories, important information can disappear.

A case may be recorded simply as murder without systematically documenting: previous intimate-partner violence; threats to kill; stalking or harassment; coercive control; sexual violence; economic or psychological abuse; attempts by the victim to leave the relationship; threats following rejection of an intimate or sexual relationship; previous complaints to police or other authorities; the role of other participants; or institutional failures to respond to known risks. Yet these circumstances may reveal that the killing was not an isolated event.

It may have been the fatal culmination of a pattern of gender-based violence.

THE CAMEROONIAN LEGAL GAP

The absence of a standalone femicide offence raises at least five important concerns.

1. Recognition gap

There is no distinct offence through which the State expressly recognizes gender-related killing as a specific manifestation of violence against women.

2. Data gap

Femicide is substantially underreported in Cameroon. Without standardized classification and investigative protocols, it becomes more difficult to identify and monitor femicide systematically.

The UNODC-UN Women framework offers Cameroon a useful basis for developing national data systems, including information on victims, perpetrators, relationships, circumstances and State responses (UNODC and UN Women, 2022).

3. Investigation gap

Investigations may focus primarily on the immediate act causing death without adequately examining the history of violence, threats, control or discrimination that preceded it.

4. Prevention gap

When previous violence and threats are not systematically connected to subsequent killings, opportunities for early intervention may be missed.

5. Accountability gap

A comprehensive investigation should not automatically stop with the person who physically caused the death. Where evidence establishes intentional participation, co-offending, complicity or other legally recognized forms of participation, responsibility should extend accordingly.

LESSONS FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS

Cameroon does not have to invent the concept from scratch.

Colombia

Colombia provides a particularly important comparative example.

Law 1761 of 2015 created feminicidio as an autonomous criminal offence and linked the offence to gender-based violence and discrimination. It identifies contextual circumstances relevant to establishing the offence, including prior violence and relationships involving power or domination (Ley 1761 de 2015 Congreso de la República de Colombia).

The Colombian experience demonstrates that gender-related context can be incorporated into a criminal offence without abandoning ordinary principles of criminal responsibility.

Mexico

Mexico’s Federal Criminal Code recognizes feminicidio as the killing of a woman for reasons of gender. Article 325 identifies circumstances relevant to establishing those gender-related reasons, including sexual violence, prior violence, an intimate or affective relationship, threats, harassment and deprivation of liberty (Código Penal Federal Mexico, 2026).

These jurisdictions do not provide templates that Cameroon should simply copy.

They provide comparative lessons.

Cameroon should develop its own definition based on its constitutional order, Penal Code, international obligations and national realities.

A PROPOSED STANDALONE OFFENCE OF FEMICIDE

Cameroon should consider amending the Penal Code to introduce a specific offence of femicide.

The following is an advocacy drafting model prepared for public and legislative discussion. It is not an official legislative text and would require detailed legal review, consultation and harmonization before adoption.

PROPOSED SECTION [X]: FEMICIDE

(1) Whoever intentionally causes the death of a woman or girl because of her sex or gender, or in circumstances manifesting gender-based violence, discrimination, domination, oppression or unequal power relations, commits the offence of femicide.

(2) Circumstances indicating that a killing may constitute femicide shall include, but shall not be limited to, where:

a) the offender is or has been the spouse, intimate partner, former spouse or former intimate partner of the victim;

b) the victim had previously been subjected to physical, sexual, psychological, economic or other gender-based violence by the offender;

c) the killing was preceded by stalking, threats, harassment, coercive control or other conduct intended to intimidate, punish, dominate or control the victim;

d) the victim was killed because she rejected, terminated or attempted to terminate an intimate or sexual relationship;

e) the killing was accompanied by sexual violence, torture, mutilation or other acts demonstrating gender-based hatred, domination or degradation;

f) the offender abused a position of authority, trust, dependency or power over the victim;

g) the victim had previously reported threats, violence, harassment or other conduct by the offender; or

h) the circumstances otherwise establish a gender-related motive or context.

(3) The circumstances specified in subsection (2) shall not be exhaustive. The prosecution may establish the gender-related nature of the killing through any admissible evidence demonstrating the relevant motive, context, pattern, discrimination or relationship of power.

WHAT SHOULD THE PENALTY BE?

The penalty must be carefully harmonized with Cameroon’s existing criminal-law framework.

One legislative option would be to establish life imprisonment as the principal penalty for femicide, while preserving the application of provisions governing capital murder where the facts independently satisfy the statutory requirements.

The objective, however, should not be punishment for punishment’s sake.

Deterrence depends not simply on the severity of punishment, but on the certainty, timeliness and quality of investigation, prosecution and adjudication.

A severe penalty on paper will have limited preventive value if perpetrators believe that violence against women will go unreported, uninvestigated or unpunished.

The message must therefore be broader: Gender-related violence will be recognized. Warning signs will be investigated. Perpetrators will be held accountable. Women at risk will be protected.

HOLDING THOSE WHO INTENTIONALLY ENABLE FEMICIDE ACCOUNTABLE

A comprehensive framework must address responsibility beyond the person who physically causes the death.

Cameroon’s Penal Code already recognizes conspiracy, co-offending and accessory liability. Sections 95–99 establish rules concerning conspiracy, co-offenders, accessories and foreseeable consequences (Cameroon Penal Code, 2016, ss. 95–99).

These provisions provide an important foundation.

However, there is a significant issue that Parliament should examine.

Section 95(2) expressly provides that there can be no conspiracy between husband and wife (Cameroon Penal Code, 2016, s. 95).

In the context of femicide, this provision deserves careful legislative scrutiny.

A marital or intimate relationship should not become a shield for intentional participation in the killing of a woman.

Any reform should ensure that criminal responsibility remains grounded in specific conduct, knowledge, intention and legally recognized participation, while removing any unjustified protection that could prevent accountability for intentional participation in gender-related killings.

Proposed legislative clarification

Any new femicide provision should make clear that a person who intentionally contributes to, facilitates, encourages, orders, solicits, finances, procures, plans or organizes the commission or attempted commission of femicide may be held criminally responsible in accordance with the applicable rules on co-offending, complicity and conspiracy.

The law should not declare every “enabler” automatically responsible.

Responsibility must remain connected to evidence establishing the person’s conduct, knowledge, intention and contribution.

This preserves fundamental criminal-law safeguards while ensuring that a person cannot avoid responsibility merely because they did not personally inflict the fatal injury.

FROM RECOGNITION TO ACTION: A FIVE-PILLAR FRAMEWORK

Legislation alone will not stop femicide. Cameroon needs a comprehensive:

Recognition; Prevention; Protection; Prosecution; and Reparation framework.

1. RECOGNITION

Parliament

Parliament should: create a clear offence of femicide; harmonize it with existing provisions on murder, capital murder, conspiracy and complicity; ensure consistency with constitutional and international human-rights obligations; and provide a legal basis for systematic documentation of gender-related killings.

Government

Government should: establish a national mechanism for monitoring gender-related killings; develop standardized definitions and data-collection protocols; integrate femicide into national GBV policies and strategies; and ensure coordination among justice, security, health and social-service institutions.

Cameroon can draw on the UNODC-UN Women statistical framework to develop a standardized approach to identifying and recording gender-related killings (UNODC and UN Women, 2022).

2. PREVENTION

Femicide prevention begins long before the killing. Families must take threats against women seriously. Communities must challenge the normalization of violence. Traditional and religious leaders should actively challenge harmful gender norms and promote accountability and non-violent relationships.

Government should invest in: GBV prevention; public education; economic empowerment; safe reporting mechanisms; early intervention; safe accommodation ; community-based prevention; and high-risk case management.

Prevention must move beyond messages telling women simply to “be careful”.

It must address the behaviours, structures and social norms that enable violence.

3. PROTECTION

Protection must begin before death.

Law enforcement agencies should strengthen: emergency responses to threats; risk assessment; protection of complainants and witnesses; enforcement of protection measures; referral to safe accommodation; and specialized responses to high-risk intimate-partner violence.

Health workers should be trained to identify escalating violence and establish confidential referral pathways.

Civil society organizations should provide: legal orientation; case management; emergency support; psychosocial support; and survivor-centred referrals.

A woman should not have to wait until she is critically injured or dead for the State to recognize that she was at serious risk.

4. PROSECUTION

A femicide investigation should never stop at: “Who killed her?”

It should also ask: “What happened before she was killed?”

Investigators should examine: Was there a history of violence? Were there threats? Was she stalked or harassed? Was there coercive control? Had she attempted to leave the relationship? Had she reported violence? Did anyone intentionally assist the perpetrator? Did an institution receive an earlier warning? Were there identifiable opportunities for intervention?

This approach moves the justice system from investigating the final act alone to investigating the pattern and context of violence that may have preceded the death.

5. REPARATION

A femicide does not end with the death of the victim. It creates survivors, Children may lose mothers, Parents may lose daughters, Families may lose caregivers and providers, Communities may lose leaders, workers and friends. Justice therefore cannot end with imprisonment.

A comprehensive reparations framework should include, where appropriate: compensation; restitution; rehabilitation; legal assistance; mental health and psychosocial support; support for children and dependants; educational support; livelihood assistance; memorialization where appropriate; guarantees of non-repetition; and institutional accountability where legally established failures contributed to the harm. Reparation is not charity. It is part of justice.

THE LAW MUST ALSO RECOGNIZE INSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

A comprehensive femicide framework should examine not only individual perpetrators but also institutional failures. Where authorities receive credible information about threats or escalating violence and fail, without lawful justification, to take action required by law or established procedures, questions of institutional accountability may arise.

This does not mean automatically criminalizing every failure by a public official.

It means creating mechanisms to determine: whether authorities received a warning; whether a risk assessment was undertaken; whether appropriate protection was available; whether established procedures were followed; whether negligence or misconduct contributed to the outcome; and whether disciplinary, civil or criminal responsibility is warranted under existing law. Accountability for femicide must extend as far as the evidence and the law permit.

THE PENDING GBV LAW: AN OPPORTUNITY CAMEROON SHOULD NOT MISS

Femicide reform should not exist in isolation.

If Cameroon is moving toward comprehensive legislation on gender-based violence, that process provides an important opportunity to address gender-related killings within a broader framework of prevention, protection, prosecution and reparation.

There are at least two possible legislative approaches.

Cameroon could:

  1. amend the Penal Code directly, inserting femicide as a standalone offence; or
  2. establish femicide within comprehensive GBV legislation while making corresponding amendments to the Penal Code and related laws.

Whichever route is chosen, the legal architecture should ensure: clear definition +legality + enforceability + institutional responsibility + data + prevention + protection + prosecution + reparation. The offence must not become merely another provision on paper. It must become an operational tool for justice and prevention.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS TO CAMEROON

PaWED-IATC calls for the following:

1. Parliament should recognize femicide in law

Introduce a clearly defined standalone offence consistent with the principle of legality and the existing Penal Code.

2. Government should establish a national femicide monitoring mechanism

Develop standardized protocols for identifying, recording and analysing gender-related killings.

3. Law enforcement should investigate the history behind the killing

Previous violence, threats, stalking, coercive control, separation, sexual violence and other warning signs should form part of risk-informed investigation.

4. Criminal responsibility should reach intentional participants

Those who plan, order, finance, facilitate or intentionally assist femicide should be accountable according to the rules of criminal participation.

5. Parliament should review spousal exemptions

The existing restriction on conspiracy between spouses deserves urgent examination in the context of gender-related killings.

6. Prevention must begin before the fatal incident

High-risk GBV cases require early identification, risk assessment, protection and coordinated intervention.

7. Families affected by femicide must receive reparation

Justice should include legal, psychosocial, economic and other appropriate forms of support.

8. Institutional failures must be examined

Where credible warnings were received, mechanisms should exist to determine whether institutional action was adequate and whether accountability is warranted.

9. The GBV legislative process should address femicide explicitly

Femicide should not be left outside the broader architecture of Cameroon’s emerging GBV legal framework.

EVERYONE HAS A ROLE

Femicide prevention cannot be left to one ministry or one institution.

Families must recognize warning signs and support women seeking safety.

Communities must challenge the normalization of violence and establish referral and early-warning mechanisms.

Defence and security forces must respond promptly to threats, protect victims and investigate gender-related killings appropriately.

The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family should lead prevention, coordination, policy development and survivor-centred services.

The Ministry of Justice should advance legal reform, prosecution guidance, judicial capacity and accountability.

The Ministry of Public Health should strengthen identification, referral, forensic services and psychosocial support.

Social services should provide case management and support for affected families and children.

Parliament should close legislative gaps and provide adequate resources for implementation.

Civil society organizations should document cases ethically, provide services, conduct strategic litigation, monitor implementation and hold institutions accountable.

Traditional and religious authorities should challenge harmful norms and promote violence-free communities.

Media should report responsibly, avoid victim-blaming and sensationalism, and contribute to public awareness.

Men and boys must challenge harmful masculinities, entitlement, coercion and violence and become active participants in prevention.

WE CANNOT PREVENT WHAT WE REFUSE TO NAME

Recognizing femicide is not about creating another legal label. It is about making visible a pattern of violence that has too often been absorbed into generic categories.

A woman killed after years of intimate-partner violence is not simply another statistic.

A woman killed because she attempted to leave an abusive relationship is not simply another homicide case.

A woman killed because she rejected a man’s control over her body, sexuality or life is not simply another file in a criminal registry. Her death may reveal a pattern and the law must be capable of seeing that pattern.

Cameroon already punishes murder. Hence, the reform advocated here is therefore not about pretending that killing is currently lawful. It is about ensuring that gender-related killings are recognized for what they are, investigated within their full context, prevented before they become fatal, prosecuted effectively and followed by meaningful accountability and reparation.

The person who delivers the fatal blow must answer for it; But so must the person who intentionally planned it; The person who ordered it; The person who financed it; The person who knowingly supplied the means; The person who deliberately facilitated it; The person who intentionally conspired to make it happen; And, within the limits of the law, those who knowingly assist in concealing the crime or obstructing justice. Because femicide is rarely only about the final moment.

It can be the final and most devastating expression of a much longer story of violence, control, discrimination and silence.

Cameroon has an opportunity to change that story; it can begin by naming the offence; then by preventing it; by protecting women before violence becomes fatal; by prosecuting perpetrators and those who intentionally enable them; and by ensuring that families and survivors receive justice, reparation and the support they need to rebuild their lives.

The question before Cameroon is no longer whether the country should punish people who kill women. It already does.

The question is whether Cameroon is prepared to recognize femicide as a distinct manifestation of gender-based violence and create a legal and institutional framework capable of preventing it.

We cannot prevent what we refuse to recognize.

We cannot recognize what the law refuses to name.

And we cannot continue waiting for another woman to die before we decide that her death deserves a name.

REFERENCES

Cameroon (2016) Law No. 2016/007 of 12 July 2016 relating to the Penal Code. Yaoundé: Republic of Cameroon.

Colombia (2015) Law 1761 of 2015: Rosa Elvira Cely Law, creating femicide as an autonomous criminal offence. Bogotá: Congress of the Republic of Colombia.

Mexico (2026) Federal Criminal Code, Article 325: Feminicide. Mexico City: Government of Mexico.

UNODC and UN Women (2022) Statistical framework for measuring the gender-related killings of women and girls (also referred to as “femicide/feminicide”). Vienna/New York: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and UN Women.

Cameroon Women’s Call for Ceasefire, Justice, Peace and Meaningful Participation

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PRESS RELEASE October 1, 2020
Cameroon Women’s Call for Ceasefire, Justice, Peace and Meaningful Participation
WE, the undersigned Cameroon Women’s Rights Groups, WHRDs, Networks, Activists and Individuals, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on women, peace and security unanimously adopted on the 31st of October 2000 with its main pillars being: PREVENTION, PROTECTION, PARTICIPATION, RELIEF/RECOVERY, and FINANCING;
MINDFUL of ongoing armed conflicts in Cameroon from boko haram violent extremism and the anglophone crisis, exacerbated by worsening humanitarian conditions and the outbreak of the COVID-19 global health pandemic, of untold human rights violations inflicted 5on citizens particularly women and girls, noting that, despite these atrocities the warring parties: the Cameroon government and the Non-state Armed Groups (NSAGs), have refused to heed to multiple calls for ceasefire especially from women who bear the brunt of crises;
MINDFUL FURTHER of Cameroon state’s commitments to the Geneva Convention relating to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 1977, the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Declaration on Violence Against Women (Vienna Declaration), the Beijing Platform of Action, the BPFA + 25, and its Outcome Document, the UNSCR 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security and related resolutions particularly resolution 1888 (2000) to reduce sexual violence in conflicts and end rape as a weapon of war, the Cameroon NAP for the implementation of 1325 (2018-2020), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development; the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (The Maputo protocol), the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the African Union Aspiration 2063, the “Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020” initiative, the Safe Schools Declaration and Guidelines, and other commitments;
RECALLING our numerous calls for peace and ceasefire initiatives including the submission of a ceasefire and dialogue continuation strategies to the Prime Minister, Head of Government during the pre-major National Dialogue Consultations, the organisation of candle light vigil and lamentation campaigns to rebut ongoing conflicts, the organisation of social media sensitization on silencing the guns, the presentation of women’s human rights situation in Cameroon at the ACHPR (65th Ordinary Session) and UNHR Special Procedure (43rd session) and others including the call by the UNSG on the need for ceasefire and national solidarity to fight against the COVID-19 global health pandemic;
RECALLING FURTHER that the continuation of hostilities disproportionately affect women and children particularly the girl child, exposing them to extreme violence and brutality from both the Defense and Security Forces (DSF) and Nonstate Armed Groups (NSAG), to all forms of SGBV including target butchery of women and girls, some carrying babies, the use of girls as suicide bombers and the desecration of their body parts, rape, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, trafficking, forced marriage, kidnapping, abduction,
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psychosocial and mental health concerns and other harmful practices. That continued hostilities have also led to attacks on health facilities, health personnel and humanitarian workers, to extended administrative measures and ghost towns by the government and Nonstate Armed Groups (NSAG) respectively restraining movement of people and goods, that these restrictive measure amount to the shrinking space phenomenon and cause untold hardship to citizens including inability of women in child labour to access health facilities during childbirth leading to a surge in maternal and neonatal deaths, the inability of women and girls to access sexual and reproductive health services (SRHS) and other facilities;
CONSIDERING that the ongoing conflicts have deprived our children of education for four years and counting, that the destruction of property including schools and health facilities, have led to a surge in adolescent girl pregnancy, child and forced marriages as parents in raw desperation prefer to marry their daughters off to one stranger and spare her being raped by many men, the appalling living conditions of women and children particularly those in refugee camps in neighboring Nigeria, those internally displaced in bushes in the restive regions and slums of the metropolitan towns like Yaoundé and Douala, that grassroot women whose principal livelihood activity is farming are raped on all fronts on their way to the farm and their possessions seized, that the outbreak of the COVID-19 global health pandemic has exacerbated these hardship and the shrinking civic space phenomenon with growing consequences on women including surges in domestic violence, economic dependence, all factors that expose women and girls to GBV;
CONSIDERING FURTHER that despite the consequences of the present socio-political situation of Cameroon on women, they have been systematically and deliberately excluded or underrepresented in all peace and humanitarian initiatives, including the National Committee on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR), the Nation Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, the Major National Dialogue (MND), the emergency humanitarian assistance plans, the ongoing Presidential Plan for Reconstruction and Development (PPRD) to reduce the effects of the crisis on populations of the North and South-West Regions and others;
RECOGNISING that peace and security are essential for the achievement of sustainable development, and are interconnected and vital to the future of women, that the ongoing conflicts, shrinking civic space and other rollbacks grievously undermine the milestones achieved by Cameroon in sustaining peace, gender equality and empowerment of women;
RECOGNISING FURTHER the Women, Peace and Security agenda, which recognizes the disproportionate impact of armed conflict on women, the occurrence of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during armed conflict, and emphasizes the importance of gender perspectives in peace negotiations, humanitarian planning, peacekeeping operations, and post-conflict peacebuilding and governance, women’s equal, full and effective participation at all stages of peace processes given their necessary role in the prevention and resolution of conflict, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, as embodied in UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013), 2122 (2013) 2242 (2015), 2467 (2019) and 2493 (2019);
ACKNOWLEDGING the recent sentencing to a minimal 10 years jail term of some military officers found guilty of killing women with babies on their backs in the Far North region of Cameroon. Does this minimal jail sentence not amount to Cameroon government’s check-the-box, façade and sham concessions in relation to human rights violations particularly relating to ongoing crises plaguing the country?
Cameroon Women’s Rights Groups, Networks, Activists and Individuals in their multitude and miscellany are alarmed about the humanitarian crisis and ongoing armed conflicts. We, therefore:
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CALL on the warring parties to immediately stop the fighting and engage in inclusive, meaningful and lasting ceasefire, to publicly commit themselves to a genuine process towards ending the civil conflict, killings, gender-based violence and building sustainable, inclusive, lasting and just peace and to heed to the call by UNSG on the need for ceasefire and national solidarity to fight against the COVID-19 global health pandemic. To scrupulously observe the Safe Schools Declaration Guidelines for Protecting Schools from Attacks and Military use during Armed Conflicts.
CALL on the inclusion of the resourcefulness of Cameroon women, human rights experts, health workers, economists, politicians and civil society leaders in the peace process and that, peace builders must ensure a representative peace process with greater women political participation and women’s empowerment.
URGE that, in every humanitarian and security matter, gender provisions be included. Ensure that women and civil society are included in all security related commitments because, when women and civil society monitor the implementation or violations of agreement it increases its credibility.
ENCOURAGE the inclusion of the women, peace and security agenda in policies and programmes for the protection of women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence before, during and after armed conflict, and the creation of greater and wider spaces for participation in peacebuilding and post-reconstruction processes, the legitimate participation of women in all phases of the peace process, from ongoing consultations to the reconstruction and all phases of building sustainable peace in Cameroon.
CALL on the Cameroon government and all development partners to build the capacity of women as peace builders either as mediators, negotiators and/ or first responders at the regional, national and local levels, include women in relevant teams to monitor, advise and ensure adequate response through gender analysis and engage men and boys within the broader women, peace and security agenda.
URGE Cameroon as a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the Beijing platform, and all peace negotiators, to make provisions especially for the needs of women and girls during DDR, repatriation, resettlement and for the rehabilitation and implementation of a future peace agreement.
ENCOURAGE all stakeholders to adopt measures to respect the human rights of women and girls as they relate to all the treaties and instruments cited in this document.
CALL on all stakeholders to genuinely commit to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security particularly the PREVENTION, PROTECTION, PARTICIPATION, RELIEF/RECOVERY, and FINANCING pillars.
DEMAND the respect for humanitarian law and accountability measures by all parties. This must include to hold the international community accountable, the Cameroon government and all other stakeholders who signed UNSCR 1325 and have shown commitment.
DEMAND that the Government and Development Partners commit to monitor and ensure the elaboration of an inclusive National Action Plan on the UNSCR 1325, which shall be vulgarized to all citizens especially women and girls. The appropriation of this Resolution and its implementation serves in early warning and PREVENTION.
REQUEST that, all actors must be held accountable by the international community and fulfill their commitment towards these treaties, that the Permanent Representatives to the United Nations on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Resolution 1325 (2000) to consider this call as the “Nuremberg moment”
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from Cameroon women for the trial of all perpetrators and protagonists of human rights violations of women, especially target killings and SGBV.
WE stand for Justice to all, Ceasefire, Inclusive Dialogue, Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Peace and Sustainable Development
Adopted on the First Day of October in the Year Two Thousand and Twenty (2020) in Cameroon by the Cameroon Women’s Peace Movement (CAWOPEM)

Lessons African Leaders most Learn from COVID-19

Lessons learned from the Corona Virus Pandemic

By Wazeh Nicoline Nwenushi |March 19, 2020

Countries all over the world should strive to invest their human and material resources in developing their countries and building their resilience. The outbreak of the COVID 19 has been declared a global pandemic with huge human, political, economic, social and gender equality consequences on all the affected countries.

Most of our African Countries have paid lip services to their development. The insincere promises of our political elites to develop our countries and the continent generally touted as a priority on their campaign agendas has caught us in this era of the fight against the corona virus.

Some African politicians over countless decades have gained pleasure in the misappropriation of our national natural resources, crackdown on individuals and civil societies who dare criticize them, arbitrarily imprison and execute their opponents. They have been qualified absentee landlords who travel abroad to treat even common colds and do their shopping. They have preferred to send their children to schools overseas than to build schools to educate all the citizens with the same entitlement to the resources they greedily and unduly stockpile for themselves and their families.

Most African countries depend on Foreign Aid in the form of Official Development Assistance (ODA) either as bilateral or multilateral funds from individual “friendly” countries; United Nations or the World Bank for the pseudo development of their countries. These “Saviour” countries including China, USA, France, Italy and others are today overwhelmed by the death toll and the political, economic and social consequences of the corona virus on their citizens and economy.  All the countries of the world including even the mightiest have been hit beyond imagination by the COVID19 virus and their human and technological limitations uncovered.

The huge human casualties registered by countries may mean they need to invest more in training and capacity building of the citizens. In countries like Italy, this may mean incentivizing the younger generation to consider having more children. From a political perspective, leaders may want to secure subsequent mandates from the electorate through making certain concessions including reconsidering their diplomatic relations bilaterally and multilaterally especially in the form of finance and technical assistance.

Economically, countries have promised to exonerate citizens from some consumption taxes like rent, electricity, gas and others. Others plan to inject trillions of US Dollars to revive the different sectors of their economy including air carriers and banks. many countries have halted the issuance of foreign visas and completely closed their boarders. The extended lockdowns have gross economic impacts on countries including estimated budget deficits and plummeting world economic development projections.   

From a social standpoint, the health facilities and infrastructures of many “Saviour” countries like China and USA have proven insufficient and inadequate to contain the COVID-19. Social projects in other areas have been suspended and all energy directed to the fight against this pandemic.

Looking at the impact of the corona virus from a gender perspective, women and girls bear the brunt like in any other disaster outbreak.  The International Labour Organisation (ILO) acknowledges that globally women perform 76.2% of unpaid care work, as much as three times than men. Many schools have been closed around the world due to the corona virus pandemic, a massive shutdown which according to UNESCO leaves many parents especially women with little or no choice but to take off time or to work from home while caring for their children. Development projects aimed at gender mainstreaming are generally disrupted during such health emergencies thereby undermining or even completely nullifying milestones in achieving gender equality.

The above human, political, economic, social and gender equality consequences of the COVID-19 on all the affected countries imply that, our “Saviour” and “Friendly” countries are now overwhelmed with their own internal issues. Charity, they say “is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it”. Injurious charity on the guilty African countries is epitomized by their inability to travel to these foreign paradises for treatment and shopping, which are also the fiscal anchorages for our embezzled funds destined for the construction and development of the African continent for all of us. Subdued with devising internal mechanisms and strategies to cope with the virus, it is unlikely that our “Saviour and Friendly” countries can still reach out to us. Closing their boarders and halting the issuance of foreign visas clearly indicates that we have all become vulnerable and abandoned to ourselves to face an illness that we neither have testing devices nor adequately trained personal to cope with it. “C’est chacun pour soi” (each for himself). The African rich biodiversity and mineral fields is enough to exploit with due diligence and transform this continent into a paradise on earth- an El Dorado. We have rather indulged into the abusive, egocentric and systemic exploitation of our own riches, discriminating, excluding, intimidating, and summarily executing indigenous populations who dare ask for mere royalties.  We have through bad governance, corruption, embezzlement, marginalization of some citizens, rigging of polls, threats, and prosecution compromised our own infrastructural independence, medical dexterity and general development.

It is unlikely that Foreign Aid in the form of Official Development Assistance (ODA) either as bilateral or multilateral funds from individual “friendly” countries; United Nations or the World Bank is available to us at his crucial moment. It is impossible for us now to start building our own health and other social facilities to contain the corona virus. Most African countries are caught in this quandary, and the days ahead with the corona virus pandemic creeping into Africa are somber. Hope we’ve learned a lesson!

Five reasons why women’s involvement in the Cameroon peace dialogue is fundamental

  1. Women constitute more than half of the Cameroonian population: Their inclusion in peace talks is first and foremost a moral and practical obligation because disregarding the needs, priorities and interests of more than half of the population is untenable and invalidates the ensuing agreement. Legally, it is the fundamental right of women enshrined in the UDHRs, and restated in UNSCR 1325, AU Aspiration 2063 and many other international and regional instruments and commitments that Cameroon has signed and /or taken.
  2. Women’s connections and code of behaviour in Cameroon is culturally common: All women even those who have suffered the worst atrocities during the crisis want peace, justice, social modifications and others, not only for themselves but for society at large. Again, women are central to care giving in families in the Cameroonians culture. This gives them mastery of the pulse of the community, a centrality to communal life which makes their inclusion in peacebuilding essential because In their role as caregivers they are highly invested in preventing, ending, and recovering from conflict, as they are motivated to protect their children and ensure security for their families, not by personal gain.
  3.  women have different experiences of violence and peace and can bring exceptional perceptions to the peacebuilding process: They are directly and deliberately targeted, their bodies are used as war tactics through rape, forced impregnation, sexual torture etc. such experiences cannot be overlooked in any valid dialogue.
  4. Women are known as peace drivers and educators both in their families and society: They can bring unique insights to the table and bridge the divide through empathy and dialogue. Though not innate in every woman, this selflessness has been demonstrated in many historical peace processes.
  5. The crisis has compounded the responsibilities of women and exposed them to untold deprivation and hardship: women have gained solid awareness of their needs, as well as that of their families and communities at large. They alone can speak for themselves.