Women from all the nooks and crannies in Yaounde, on Saturday October 15 celebrated the International Day of the Rural Woman through an exhibition at the Yaounde City Hall on the theme, “United in the fight against poverty, hunger and gender inequality.” At the exhibition organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), various female associations presented samples of art work and agricultural products as a sign of rural women’s involvement in the struggle to curb hunger and poverty in Cameroon.
While reading the speech of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Michel Balimu, said women lack equal access to resources. He explained that more than 100 million people could be lifted out of poverty if rural women had the same access to productive resources like men. Michel Balimu reiterated that the number of hungry people would drop as much as 17 per cent which will improve the standards of living of more than 150 million individuals if investments are made on rural women.
One of the exhibitors, Anne-Marie Fotie, President of the ‘Groupe des Volontaires Chretiennes pour la Reinsertion des Femmes et Mineures Detenu’ admitted that women detainees and prisoners also have talents. Although behind bars, Anne-Marie Fotie said they are self-employed as they are capable of producing various works of art like bed sheets, curtains, handmade bracelets, chains, dolls and starch for laundry which they displayed during the exhibition. Another group, ‘Féderation des Reseaux des Associations Féminines du Cameroun’ had on display dried foodstuff like vegetables, plums, pineapple, cassava, plantain, chicken and meat for easy preservation and consumption. On its part, GIC Laboratory, had products made out of cocoa butter such as bathing soap, hair oil, massage and wrinkle oil and other medicinal products.
