Anglophone Crisis; Women Breaking Barriers For Survival



For decades now, gender stereotypes have kept women confined in spaces where they have been told there is only a certain job they can pursue. Most times, there is that face of amazement when a woman is seen in a male-dominated sector like driving, carpentry, and engineering amongst others. Although women have been pushing societal boundaries for ages,  breaking the glass ceiling by entering jobs that were traditionally done by men, the Anglophone crisis seems to have encouraged many to brave the odds. In Bamenda chief town of the North West Region, women now are into driving, weathering,  carpentry, and most especially funeral home business


The Meta Quarter street which is popular for funeral homes, a business sector dominated by men seems to have changed in recent years as many women are fast engaging in the business. Speaking to Kiming Odilia, a co-owner of True Love Funeral home, she explains that her quest for survival during the phase of the crisis encouraged her to venture into the business.


" As the crisis started, my old job couldn't take care of me and my family since my siblings joined. Life was hard. So when I saw the opportunity came,  I decided to join the coffin business for my family's survival " she intimated.


     


Braving the odds for the sake of themselves and their families to live a comfortable life, their experience working in a male-dominated sector could be characterized as a bittersweet experience, as Ndinapoh Modestine a funeral home worker narrates. 


" The gunshots are there which makes us close early or don't come to work. Also, customers look and talk to me in a certain way that makes me feel bad sometimes. I have lost customers because I am a woman. Immediately they see me, they move to another shop. Sometimes they insist that I call my Boss claiming a woman doesn't know the business "


True Love Funeral Home worker, Modestine Ndinapoh 


Though Faced with these challenges this woman, a worker at Peace Loving Funeral Home for the past three years notes that it is a profitable business to venture into.

 " I remain a testimony. My and I are now living a better life as compared to 2017. I can now play my Njangi.  I have now learned a new skill of writing words on ribbons for flowers which I make more from". 


On what advice, these women could give to their fellow women out there, these women seem to have one thing in mind; family.  To them, as long it is legitimate, societal issues and boundaries shouldn't be a limitation. Women are powerful and there is no force even that of discrimination equal to that of a woman determined to rise.


By Pechuqui Laurata


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

20 CCMN Web Influencers Commissioned to Promote Values, Symbols, Denounce Hate Speech

Image
The last few years have seen an upsurge of hate speech in Cameroon against a backdrop of conflict, hate, discrimination, and violence. Even though individual, civil society organizations and networks like the Cameroon Community Media Network CCMN have been working tirelessly to end hate speech, the socio-political crisis in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon have further made it worse In this light, the Civil Peace Service, CPS network in Cameroon at the end of its 2022 annual workshop deem it relevant and necessary to develop a joint advocacy project for the development of citizens' consciousness in diversity based on common history and values/symbols of national unity.  This was in a workshop attended by 20 CCMN influencers represented across the national territory.. The session which took place on December 10th, 2022 in Yaounde was an avenue for these members to share the reality on the ground while developing new strategies to help counter hate speech in the online me...
Read more

Students schooled to Uphold National Symbols, fight Hate Speech

Image
With the quest to combat hate speech which is spreading fast amongst youths, Civil Peace Service in collaboration with the Cameroon Commmunity Media Network CCMN, effected a sensation Campaign in one of the village secondary schools in the North West Region.The session which took place at GBHS Mendakwe on Thursday 15th December 2022 had in attendance over 40 students. The discussion session kick-started with a presentation on Combating Hatespeech facilitated by Peace Journalist Pechuqui Laurata. While walking participants through this session, the facilitator realized that, most of the students combat hate speech with more hate speech. "I combat hate speech with hate speech. This is my own way of fighting back" a student said. Facilitator, Pechuqui Laurata Combating hate speech with more hate speech has only led to an upsurge in violence, a threat to peace, social cohesion and more. Facilitator Pechuqui Laurata added that in order to combat hate speech, it is important for ev...
Read more

North West Region: PIC Urges Administrators To Stop Using Council Workers For Electoral Campaigns

Image
Mayors and Local administrators.  The office of the Public Independent Concialiator have cautioned regional, city and local administrators, especially mayors to stop forcing council workers to fellow their political views and support their political campaigns. This was during the opening ceremony of a two day seminar organized by PIC at their main office hall upstation, Bamenda this Thursday 27th October 2022. Gender Expert and a staff of PIC Nina Agingi  " We have noticed that mayors involve their staff in campaigns. In this situation where the mayor is removed from the position an incoming mayor might decide to discriminate against those staff who participated in the campaign of the previous mayor and this will be a violation of their rights". Gender Expert and a staff of PIC Nina Agingi remarked while facilitating a session on non-discrimination and mainstreaming inclusiveness in Councils. The President of the Public Independent Conciliator, Tamfu Simon Fai in his address...
Read more