ENCOURAGING WOMEN
A reception by the Chiefs and Elites of the Fako Division of origin, after being elected as Deputy Speaker in 2010
to support women candidates. All these and more will assist women to surmount all of these challenges. Table One conveys an indication of the evolution of women in the Cameroonian Parliament from 1960 to the present day. From the statistics in the table, it
is clear that there has been a steady progress in women’s involvement in the political life of our country. Although we have now attained our objective of 30 per cent female representation in Parliament, more still needs to be done.
How to make a breakthrough We as women should always try as much as possible to meet our commitments and always observe our deadlines to achieve results motivated by professionalism rather than personal concerns. We should endure and persist when faced with
problems and challenges because there is no rose without a thorn. We must always be calm and focused in stressful and difficult situations. We must resist pressure when making a decision, and must endeavour to support and stand by decisions that are of common interest and in the supreme interest of the country. We must respect and treat people
with dignity be it men, women or children – to quote Martin Luther Kings JR, “let us conduct our struggles on the high place of dignity and respect of one another and not drink from the cup of hatred and segregation”. We should avoid discriminatory
practice against individuals and groups, irrespective of race, colour and religious beliefs. Women that engage in politics
should perfom a self-assessment and self-evaluation as this will help
6 | The Parliamentarian | 2014: Issue Three - Cameroon
them understand their strength and weaknesses. Women in politics
gladly played our role as organizers and praise singers.
“Women need to be more selfless. If women could come together and decide that they should contest elections and be a leader, many more could do the same.”
should be able to use effective communication. This listening and understanding the perspectives and views of those you are called upon to work with. When I entered into politics in the
early 90s, my fellow female Members and I were the real animators of the party as we always worked hard to mobilize and secure the female vote for the men. As women who were brought up in a traditional setting, we
Challenges and lessons learned The principal challenge of engaging in representative leadership as a woman, is that of working to be accepted by your peers for who you are and what you are capable of. Overcoming this challenge
requires commitment, consistency, reliability, confidence and continuous hard work. This part has been and continues to be the most difficult especially considering that the men
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