Editorial: Women can influence 2025 presidential election.

According to the United Nations team in Cameroon, "while 39% of the national population lives below the poverty line, this rate rises to 51.5% for women, while 79.2% of them are underemployed". 

They are the most impoverished demographic in the country, largely due to their concentration in the informal agricultural sector. They have limited access to decision-making positions.



In that lurch of misery in hardship, change for the better should be of utmost concern to them.

The National Institute of Statistics, NIS, data shows that women make up 50.6 percent of the population, a significant majority over men. They can by that numerical superiority, decide the outcome of the 2025 presidential election and beyond.

When the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa, received New Year wishes from staff in Yaounde on January 21, 2025, she told her folk that this year is a crucial one for the country and it is imperative that they take part in civic and democratic processes.

“We have elections in 2025 and 2026. Women need to participate by registering and voting. They also need to be represented in the various structures and in the right places,” she said. 

That song of female emancipation has been echoed over the years. But they are still lamentably lagging behind, compared to their masculine counterparts in the registration exercise released by Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, recently.

As of the end of last year, only 3,637,665 women against 4,202 957 men registered to vote. Why are Cameroonian women shying away from participating in the electoral process, even with the campaigns for gender equality?

Since the International Labour Organisation, ILO, has proven that "women in leadership bring better business performance", would it not be right to say they can also be superior political leaders than men, notorious for corruption?

The United Nations has noted that: "Women’s political participation is critical for a well-functioning democracy. Their inclusion is a matter of justice and a key factor in creating more effective governance. Having more women in policymaking has shown to help advance legislation on crucial issues, such as health, education, childcare, infrastructure and ending violence against women and serve as an inspiration for girls to pursue higher education and career opportunities”. 

But in Cameroon, the participation of women in politics remains insufficient, and, as pointed out in a joint report by Leap Girl Africa and the Association for the Support of Single Mothers, ASFM, in a report last November, the "under-representation of women in political leadership and decision-making has slowed progress toward gender equality. Young women and girls continue to be left out of key participation and decision-making spaces, especially in rural and conflict-affected areas”.

Although in Cameroon women are active in civil society, particularly in associations, few hold positions of influence. For younger women, the problem is even more pronounced: “They are nearly invisible in both public institutions and administrations,” said Pertulla Ezigha, the Founder and Executive Director of Leap Girl Africa.

She highlighted the negative effects of the exclusion, stating that: “Civic and political engagements are essential for demanding and defending one’s rights. Yet, from our observations, many women under 30 show little to no interest in politics and its processes”.

Women hold 31% of seats in the national parliament, but account for less than 10% of executive positions. The report cautions that the statistics tell only part of the story.

“Political parties do not always include poor women on their candidate lists because they lack the resources to fund their campaigns. Moreover, most of these women are either unmotivated or unaware that they can also take part as potential candidates," it adds. 

To bridge the yawning gap, both organisations plan to conduct a national study on the barriers, opportunities, and potential impact associated with full female involvement in political spaces.

They are also working on drafting a bill to institutionalise gender quotas for decision-making positions, including elected offices, ministerial roles, and diplomatic posts.

Finally, they plan to host training sessions for women under 35 to support their political engagement and establish a network of female elected officials.

In the words of the UN in Cameroon, "societies that encourage women to hold political leadership positions demonstrate more equally balanced schools and are overall more peaceful and equitable" which is what Cameroon needs.

The campaign for women to run for political offices, as the Minister of Women’s  Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa, said last week, should also include not just propping women to register, but  starting  from the family to teach the girl child that "what a man can do, a woman can, and even better”.

 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3351 of Monday January 27, 2025

 

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