Meet Roseline Obah: The Tenacious Women's Right Activist

 For more than three decades now the fight against Gender-based violence GBV in Cameroon has been slowed down by stereotypes, myths, power imbalance, gender roles, and most especially the existent societal inequality fueled by the ongoing conflict in the two English-speaking regions of the country leading to an upsurge in GBV cases.

Despite the grabbling challenges, community women leaders like Roseline Obah quest to achieve a GBV-free Cameroon never seems to change. Producing content both online and offline has been one of the strategies used to sensitize communities in Cameroon about Gender-based violence.

Rosaline Obah is a digital and women's rights advocate, National vice coordinator of the Gender Data Network in Cameroon. The grid which has members from the media and civil society gathers and document factual data about GBV issues and cases while reporting issues that surround women and girls.

Rosaline is also the National Coordinator of the Cameroon community media network, a peace Journalist, a conflict transformation and do no harm trainer, and also a degree holder in Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in women and Gender studies. According to Roseline Obah, her studying Women and Gender at the University pinpoints her interest in fighting against Gender-Based violence. 

Her Inspiration 

Having been in the fight against Gender-Based now for twelve years,  engaging in actions online and offline especially around rape, domestic violence, and equally problems that affect the mental health of women and girls, Roseline enunciates that her inspiration behind being an activist against Gender-Based violence stems from how the society is shaped.

I looked at how society is structured, it's patriarchal system, and the way women are treated in our various communities in terms of cultural, political, social economic aspects, I want to believe that as somebody very concerned about the wellbeing of people, I really think women and young girls represent a vulnerable group and I have always had that burning passion to amplify the voices of the vulnerable reflected in various spheres especially through the media, in terms of my profession as a communicator and as a journalist. Roseline Obah notes.

Focused on the domain of rape, domestic violence, and the mental health of women, Rosaline has been able to carry out several activities to sensitize the population across different communities in Cameroon on the ills of GBV.

From producing content for media to organizing different seminars and workshops, fireside discussions, distributing flyers on the streets to online/offline campaigns, Rosaline’s approach builds her approach on fighting against GBV around equity and not equality based on the premise that biologically women can never be equal to men but through equity women just as men should receive the same treatment and open to the same opportunities, resources and rights just like men and boys thus should not be undermined and do not deserve to be violated or victim blamed.

With the ongoing conflict in the two English Speaking regions in Cameroon cropping up a new crisis and abuse which is sexual exploitation and abuse,  Rosaline was among a group of actors that promoted protection from sexual exploitation and abuse of internally displaced women and girls by humanitarian workers.   Together with her team, they have been able to record over a thousand cases of victims who have been suffering silently and were later provided with referral path systems where victims of GBV can get all the support they need and perpetrators reprimanded and justice served.

With the hunger to live in a society void of violence despite the obstacles,  Rosaline believes in inclusive strategies to fight against GBV, involving men and women in discussions and actions against Gender-based violence, while articulating on the GBV towards men as victims which usually receives less attention. According to Rosaline the Start, Awareness Support, Action SASA Methodology which is centered around power, continues to be used by her and other different women leaders engaging women and girls, men and boys in the fight against Gender-Based Violence. 

The award-winning activist and trainer in mainstreaming gender issues in all spheres of public and private life and especially through the community media believes that if Gender Based Violence has to come to an end, the stereotypes, gender, and gender roles have to be erased from society. The best way to do that is to engage both sexes, men and women, boys and girls in the fight against Gender-Based Violence towards men and women, boys and girls as victims and at the same time perpetrators depending on the situation.

This piece is motivated by COMAGEND, a frontline organization in the fight against GBV in collaboration with the Cameroon Community Media Network, CCMN as part of activities to mark this year’s 16 days of activism against GBV. 

By Pechuqui Laurata