The maiden edition of the National Women’s Convention has rounded up in Yaounde, Cameroon with the over 1000 women affirming their commitment to work for the return and consolidation of Peace within their respective families and communities.
The women made the affirmation, Saturday July 31, 2021 at the close of the convention.
This was accompanied by an appeal to their sisters, husbands, brothers and sons to support them in their drive for bringing peace to Cameroon, as a prize they owe the country.
“We women of Cameroon are longing for peace. As women, we have buried our husbands and fathers, our brothers and uncles, our sisters and daughters” they noted.
“We have bandaged wounds for our sons, wept and comforted our daughters who have been raped and bartered and saved them”, the women lamented.
The women also noted that many of them are still running away from gunshots, have lived in bushes, suffered in cold and starved for days, a situation they don’t want to find themselves in again.
The women noted that, during armed Conflicts, they pay a disproportionately heavy price. Despite that, they have shown that they can overcome the challenges with strong determination, loud voices and firm actions.
“Women are the glue that holds every society together, here in Cameroon and across the world – we have a sacred duty to link individuals and bind communities together” they stated.
With this, they went on:
“… we have come with an unwavering commitment to bring peace to the country we love and to make it a better place for ourselves and our children”.
While affirming their commitment to work for the for the return and consolidation of peace in Cameroon, the women called on all stakeholders in the conflict to undertake concrete and immediate actions to immediately and permanently end hostilities and give meaning to African Union campaign to “Silence the Gun’s” in Africa.
They also urged stakeholders to pursue a continued and inclusive dialogue that addresses core issues around Peace, solidarity and shared humanity in Cameroon, render the existing DDR centres functional and responsive to existing conflicts, create additional and reinforce the existing centres for psychosocial support and trauma-healing.
For peace to reign in Cameroon, they added, it is necessary to ensure the equal and permanent involvement of Women peace mediators and negotiators in peace processes at all levels while enforcing their protection at all times, according to the four pillars of the UN Resolution 1325.
The maiden Women’s Convention for Peace was attended by women Peace activists, displaced women and girls, victims and survivors of war related violence, female traditional and religious leaders, female soldiers and sports women, women entrepreneurs, domestic workers, buyam-sellam women, women from civil societies, trade unions and many more.
