A conference on the theme held in Yaounde on Thursday, July 28, 2016.
In many Cameroonian cultures, girl children are not often given the same growing-up opportunities like little boys. As a result, these girls are either married off early, become victims of unwanted pregnancies, drop out of school, and thus end up having fewer opportunities in life.
On-Spot Enterprises Cameroun, through its “Be Involved For The Youth,” BIFTY programme, on July 28, 2016, in Yaounde, organised a conference on the theme, “Relay for the young vulnerable girl.” The aim was to raise awareness on the importance of girl child education, reduce gender disparities and listen to female mentors speak out on the challenges of the Cameroonian girl child. Speakers at the event included Sally Nyolo, an artiste and UNICEF Cameroon Goodwill Ambassador, Prof. Claude Abe, Dr Afunde Janet, Babel Léontine Babeni, founder of the Yaounde FESCARHY Festival and Ndoka Inès.
Taking the floor first, Sally Nyolo recalled how she left her native Eton land in the Centre Region for France at the age of 12 years. Separated from a culture that never gave womenfolk the same opportunities like the boys and men, she strove to discover her cultural roots. Today, she is an accomplished Bikutsi artiste, renowned for her skills on the traditional male musical instruments, “Mvet oyem” and the “Nku’ul,” which no man ever formally “handed” to her. Instead, she took upon herself to learn how to play the “Mvet.” Moving from door to door selling her paintings in France, Sally Nyolo was eventually able to raise money to produce her first album.
It was only after this that a famous recording company signed her on, she pointed out. Sally Nyolo therefore pleaded for Cameroonian cultures to give girl children equal opportunities like their boy peers. Afunde Janet, a Medical Doctor, spoke of the worrying maternal mortality rate in the country, saying this was a major setback to healthcare efforts. Young girls of between 10 and 12 years have experienced sex, and by 15 and 19 years, many already have babies out of wedlock. Early marriages have as consequences high girl child school dropout rates, HIV infections and fewer and fewer girls succeeding in life, Dr Afunde said.
