NW Regional Assembly: VP drums inclusion of women in peacebuilding, leadership.

It was organised by the association, Mother of Hope Cameroon, MOHAM under the theme: “Women's leadership in peacebuilding:formalising the voices and roles of women mediators for inclusive Processes”. 

The Summit brought together women mediators, traditional rulers, development partners, civil society actors and public officials. Participants reflected on strategies to strengthen women's participation in conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding.

Fon Amidu Nji used the Summit to highlight the value of women's contributions to leadership, social cohesion and conflict resolution. He said when women do such while respecting established cultures and traditions, it will strengthen peace and development.

Drawing from his experience as Fon of Nkambe, Fon Amidu noted that women have continued to play important roles in fostering dialogue, resolving disputes and maintaining stability within families and communities.

"When women are included in community leadership, communities rise to live in peace, and peace is a key prerequisite for development," he stated.

The traditional ruler stressed that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without the active participation of women. He urged institutions and communities to create more opportunities for women to contribute to decision making processes.

He also highlighted the Peace and Development Initiative, PDI, of the North West Regional Assembly as a model for promoting dialogue. PDI, the Fon added, is also key in enhancing reconciliation and social cohesion in communities affected by the crisis in the English-speaking.

According to him, the initiative continues to provide platforms that bring together traditional rulers, community leaders, public institutions and development partners involved the peace and development committees to address challenges through dialogue and collective action.

The monarch emphasised the need to empower women mediators and recognise their contributions to inclusive peace building and sustainable development.

During the summit, the Project coordinators disclosed that 71 grassroots mediators and 104 peace monitors have been trained to support peacebuilding interventions at community and institutional levels. 

Since its launch, the initiative, it was said, has handled 362 mediation cases, recording an overall success rate of 87.5 percent. Funded by the Open Society Foundation through OSIWA, the project, officials also stated,  has reached more than 7,800 people through across all 34 subdivisions in the North West  Region.

МОНСАМ Programme Director, Sirri Cynthia Wakuna Ngang Epse Jima, said the initiative  is to address the exclusion of women from decision making and conflict resolution processes.

“We wanted to bring grassroots women's voices into the mediation agenda because they have always played key roles in resolving conflicts within families, churches and communities,” Wakuna explained. 

She revealed that over 250 families, group and community conflicts were successfully mediated during the first year of the project.

Gaye Nicoline, Community Mediator of Jakiri Subdivision in Bui Division, said the project has provided practical tools for addressing disputes that escalated during the peak of the conflict in the North West and South West Regions.

“There were many fights, broken homes and insecurity in our communities. Some conflicts even resulted in loss of lives because they were not properly managed,” Gaye noted, adding that: “ Through this project, we have been able to intervene and help restore peace in many situations”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3812 of Tuesday June 09, 2026