Women of the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT) used the 2024 International Women’s Day occasion to define themselves in the context of positive masculinity. “Female leadership and positve masculinity as a means of preserving public order” was the theme that guided commemorative activities.
Based on this, the Focal point person for Women’s Day activities in MINAT and cumulatively the Director of the Civil Protection Department, Ndzie Ntsama Angele, brought the women together on March 4th where she first sensitized the women about the importance of the International Women’s Day and the discipline which they should accord during the celebration. She told the women that, it is a day to celebrate the values of a woman, the strengths of a woman in the office, in the kitchen and in public. She called on the women to be disciplined throughout the celebration by heeding to instructions, turn out for march past and join their peers in the dinner that has been organized.
MINAT women continued commemorative activities on March 5th with a conference and a food exhibition. The conference was focused on positive masculinity and the guest speakers were: Antoinette Zongo, Senior Divisional Officer of the Mefou and Akono and Menkiawi Elvis, Expert in Gender and Development at the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family. They presented talks that were facilitated by the General Inspector of Electoral Affairs, Gisèle BEKILA. The guest speakers in their presentations cited the challenges faced by women including discrimination in land acquisition and matrimonial conflicts. They called on women to overcome these challenges by giving equal education opportunities to children in the family and women should be self-confident in order to meet the challenges facing them. All these would go a long way to achieve gender equality and achieve the empowerment of all women and girls.
They equally called on women to demonstrate positive masculinity by allowing men to take up house roles especially for men who demonstrate interest and to regard men as partners not as an adversaries. From the conference, the day continued with a food exposition with the women showcasing their ability in the kitchen. Foods from all the cultural zones of Cameroon were presented including “water fufu and eru, koki, achu, cok, kirichi, corn fufu and vegetables, Kwacoco, ekwang and pem”
Sports to Brace Up
Sports was also part of the International Women’s Day program at MINAT. Women of the Ministerial Department had sports on March 6th, 2024 to keep fit for the International Women’s Day. The Sports was coordinated by Madam Ndikum Bridget, Director of the Studies, Statistics, Planning and Cooperation Division, meanwhile, Madam Ndzie Ntsama Angele, Focal point of Women’s Day activities at MINAT supervised. The women had sport dance, jogging and stretching to make them smart for March 8th. The final day of commemoration was March 8th where MINAT women, clad in the 2024 women’s day fabric, joined their peers at the Yaounde ceremonial ground, in a march past that was cheered by Cameroon’s First Lady, Chantal Biya, who presided over activities at the ceremonial ground. The women marched past with slogans that promote the integration and development of women. The day continued with a dinner in the presence of MINAT’S Secretary General, Yves Christian Edoa Effa. The guest of honor was Madame Yap Mariatou, Secretary General of the International Civil Defense Organisation.
The S.G, lauded the women for being prolific and dynamic, Calling on them to continue being the pride of MINAT. He commended Minister Atanga Nji Paul, for organizing the women’s day celebration and for continually supporting MINAT women. Also during the event, there were competitions in a quiz, karaoke and dancing. The day was sandwiched with the honouring of some distinguished female Directors at MINAT, for their contributions. They include Juliette Mbella – Director of Communication and Public Relations Division, Ndzie Ntsama Angele – Director of the Civil Protection Department, Ndikum Bridget – Director of the Statistics, Teaching, Planning and Cooperation Division and Madam Tebo, Inspector Number 2 In charge of Electoral Affairs.
By Mildred Ndum Wung