The Need for Gender Studies at All Levels of Education in Cameroon

Abstract

Aim: The need for gender studies and practice in Cameroon cannot be over emphasized or remain only on papers and commemorations such as the celebration of the International Day of the Woman and conventions ratified. This paper aims at elucidating how the top-down educational policy of the government where gender studies are introduced later on under Citizenship Education has failed to inculcate desired values in society. Methods: Data was garnered empirically through observations, through study of conjugal conflict files at the Regional Delegations of the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family, and through related scholarly articles, books and online sources. Results: The study found that even with imposed quarters from the UN that have been inculcated in the country’s constitution, and the efforts made so far by government, there’s no parity from the executive right down to legislative, not to go down to communal and family levels in Cameroon. Findings equally show that, many women still ignorantly believe especially in rural areas, that politics is meant only for their male counterparts who are presumably heads of the families. At the level of Higher Education, some male scholars in state universities continue to falsely believe and question the competence of female colleagues. Some cultures still made parents to believe that higher education or schooling in general should be a male domain, thereby retarding the education of the girl child who is lagging behind under the bondage of culture. This is the typical case with the Hausa and Fulani residing in Cameroon and some ethnic groups caught up in discriminatory cultures all over the country. Conclusion: Gender studies should be imposed at all levels of education in Cameroon and African countries to foster gender equality. Recommendations: Government should separate gender studies from citizenship and make it a stand-alone subject known as Gender and Ethnic studies. Parents should undergo gender training courses be it in adult literacy program, and/or future parents are to gain this knowledge in schools before becoming parents to avoid being discriminative. If the gender studies are incorporated in current syllabus, Cameroonians would have no problems with notions like gender equality, equity, mainstreaming.