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. As a signatory, 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. With this plan in mind, the government set up structures, coupled with the activities of national and international stakeholders to train and develop skills of the rural women to participate in improving the living standard in the community. Despite attempts made to improve on the socio-economic 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 in Moghamo. The situation is disquieting in that in spite of the presence of the women's empowerment centre constructed by Moghamo women and equipped with assistance of development partners to empower themselves, the living conditions and social status of these rural women still needs much improvement. The question therefore arises: what are these constraints and how do they specifically limit women's empowerment and their full contribution as community development partners in this cultural setting? This article seeks to explore the reasons why local praxis continues to pose a strong resistance and further identify the factors that have hindered the Moghamo women from being fully empowered in order to contribute their fair share to the development of their community.