Women as soldiers, war victims

Past armed conflicts such as the Cameroon-Nigeria Bakassi Peninsular dispute and the on-going war against Boko Haram have seen the deployment of female soldiers in various support and logistics capacities behind combat lines.

Female soldiers are also involved in keeping order in various unrests along the Cameroon-Central-African border as well as in international peacekeeping efforts in the Central African Republic.

The disclosure was made by the Chief of Staff at the headquarters of the First Gendarmerie Region, Colonel Elisabeth Henriette Mindzie, during a roundtable conference on the theme, “Women and Armed Conflicts” organised yesterday March 5, 2015 in Yaounde by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation (MINATD).

According to the Moderator and Inspector No 1 in charge of Electoral Issues at MINATD, Gisele Bekila, the roundtable was a key activity organised in prelude to the 30th International Women’s Day.

Supervised by the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation in charge of Regional and Local Authorities, Jules Doret Ndongo, the event was attended by Women’s Empowerment Minister, Pr. Marie Therese Abena Ondoa, cabinet ministers and members of the diplomatic corps alongside staff of the Ministry, amongst others.

They equally learnt from the second lecture by Section Head of the Cameroon Red Cross, Lyly Kwamo, that among the non-combatting population in armed conflicts, women were victims and confronted with diverse challenges such as marginalisation, poverty and suffering, beckoning humanitarian services in healthcare and socio-economic reinsertion.