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| women weep for peace to turn to Cameroon's English Regions |
Women of all walks of life trooped into the Bamenda Municipal Stadium to cry to God Almighty to grant peace to the North West and South West Regions that have been increasingly unsafe since the outbreak of the Anglophone crisis in November 2016
The women wept for their children, husbands and their fellow women who have been killed both by the Ambazonia separatist fighters and the Cameroon defense and security forces.
"Guns don't talk, people do", "All forces ceasefire," are some of the banner messages displayed by the women as they wept
They called on the warring parties to down their weapons and give peace a chance.
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| Woman weeps with funeral T-shirt of brother |
The Anglophone crisis went confrontational in May 2017 when the Ambazonia Defense Forces was created. Since then, government has taken measures to put at end to the activities of the separatists.
This process has led to the death of several women, men and youths. Villages have been wiped out in Momo, Boyo, Menchum and recently Ngoketunjia and Donga Mantung and also in some parts of the South West Region. This has greatly reduced the farming land for rural women to cultivate. A host of them stranded in urban centres.
In parts of Boyo, women have resulted to burying the corpses of their children and husbands, a custom left only for men in the North West Region
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| cross section of women |
Eileen Akwo, a gender activists, recounted that it took them extra efforts to mobilize the women who themselves are scared of the security challenges of the time.
"The women cried to express their sorrow. The world should know that the women are not happy and this crisis has really weighed down on women. There is an urgent needs for us to live like brothers and sisters",She said.
Some of the women came with sack dresses and funeral T-Shirts used at funerals for their loved ones.
Championed by the North West, South West Women Task Force, they called on the authorities that be, to look deep into this problem and come out with long-lasting solutions.
The women also wept for their fellow women who have resulted to using rags as sanitary pads in the displaced houses in Cameroon and as refugees in neighboring Nigeria.
A strongly worded letter calling for the Head of State, Diplomatic Missions and the powers that be to act fast was read out at the end of the event.
The women wept for two hours
By Ndi Tsembom Elvis
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