PROMOTING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC RIGHTS IN CAMEROON

(WERC PROJECT)

Operational Working Group: “Gender Policy Advocacy in Cameroon” (Only on Invitation)

March 25th , 2022, 09:00 am (Cameroon time) at S.T Muna Foundation, Yaoundé

1. Background

In Cameroon, women represent half of the total population (World Bank, 2020). Despite government initiatives to ensure gender equality, women continue to suffer many injustices. They are continually discriminated against and remain in a state of poverty and underemployment. According to a report released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in 2019, 43.2% of unionized women faced domestic violence. Of these women, 39.8% experienced emotional abuse and 14.5% experienced sexual abuse. In total, 56.4% of unionized women have experienced at least one of these forms of violence. These inequalities are also manifested in many other areas such as property rights (only 3% of women own a house without a land title and 1.6% have a land title in their name); access to education (32.5% of women over 25 years of age have attained a secondary level of education compared to 39.2% of men); access to decision-making positions (only 33.89% of women in parliament in 2020); access to maternal health care and access to credit. Given the challenges of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the impact of women’s empowerment on economic growth (UN, 2015), in-depth advocacy to reduce persistent gender inequalities is crucial today. It is within this framework that the Nkafu Policy Institute, a Think Tank of the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation, is organizing this workshop to discuss ways to advance gender policy in Cameroon through an advocacy approach.

2. Objectives of the working group

The event’s objective is to examine ways in which gender issues can effectively be advanced in Cameroon through policy advocacy. Specifically, it will

• · Examine the gender inequalities in Cameroon;
• · Identify the challenges women face in overcoming the gender gap in Cameroon; and
• · Alternative ways in advocating for gender equality in Cameroon.

3. Target audience (Only on Invitation)

This event will bring together the members of the Operational Working Group put in place by the Foretia Foundation within the framework of the WERC project on Promoting Women’s Economic Rights in Cameroon.

4. Expected output

To come out with a comprehensive approach to enhance evidence-based policy recommendations that stakeholders will take into consideration in advocating for meaningful gender equality and equity in Cameroon.

5. Contact

Email: [email protected] / Tel: (+237) 22 31 15 84 / 654 86 72 54