Women from all the nooks and crannies in the Dja and Lobo Division of the South Region on March 19, gathered at the Meyomessala ceremonial ground to continue celebrations marking the 26th edition of the International Women’s Day with a rural touch to festivity that earned standing ovation from dignitaries. The women, who came as far as Ebolowa, the headquarters of the South Region, ended an over-two hour march-past with an exhilarating performance from a captivating group of majorettes and dancers who were above the age of 50. The women, whom the population nicknamed “Mama Majorette”, left the crowd spellbound as they marched past. In front of the grandstand where the representative of the First Lady, Mrs Marie-Therese Abena Ondoa and a host of other dignitaries were seated, Mama Majorettes performed a popular song by the artist Grace Decca. It was some kind of a remix of the original song. Despite their ages, Mama Majorettes in a special dancing pattern left the crowd, particularly members of the Circle of Friends of Cameroon, (CERAC) not only clapping but also dancing.

The traditional March 8 extension festivities in Meyomessala grouped over 2,000 women from some 100 female associations and networks. After a massive arrival of CERAC members, the gendarmerie serene signalled the arrival of the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Mrs Marie-Therese Abena Ondoa at the ceremonial ground. At about mid-day the march-past began with women carrying a banner with the theme of celebration: “Equal access to education, training, science and technology: pathway to decent work for women”. With drum beats from the INJS band, the women marched past carrying not only the effigy of the Head of State and wife, Chantal Biya but also other messages to reinforce the theme of celebration. During the marched-past, one could see a special square of top female elites of the region who reside out of the region as well as disabled men and women. The UNESCO club of the Government Secondary School Meyomessala also marched-past brandishing messages hailing Mrs Biya’s UNESCO title, Goodwill Ambassador for Education and Social Inclusion.

An hour later, the march-past took a different turn with female associations and networks. The INJS band dished out a popular sound from Gervais Mendo Ze choral group, “La voix du Cenacle”. At this point, the women sang and danced as they went across the grandstand. Typical of a rural woman, some of the women dressed in their farm attires with their babies on the backs and farm tool in their hands, danced as they marched-past. Some of them proudly brandished cooking pots and samples of their product. In songs the women said “women have to work with dignity, for their proper promotion before that of their families and nation at large.” Amidst singing and dancing, Minister Marie-Theresa Ondoa, made a guided tour of the know-how of women in the South Region in an exhibition that took place at the Meyomessala centre for the promotion of women and the family.