PEARL Foundation Bonds With Female Lawyers, Others Against Widows' Rights Violations
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| Participants At The Workshop Organized By Pearl Foundation |
Widows in Cameroon have continued to pay the price for the death of their spouses, and the trampling on widows' rights and other vulnerable women has reached crescendo, PEARL Foundation has confirmed to drayinfos.
Many have seen their husband's properties confiscated by relatives
leaving them with nothing to survive on. Some have been denied access to their children
thereby constituting a violation to the Maputo Protocol which is out to uphold
women's rights.
This explains why PEAR Foundation, a not for profit organization
based in Bamenda with inspiration from the Maputo Protocol is out to combat the
phenomenon.
To better prepare for the offensive against the violation of
widow's and women's rights, PEARL Foundation with the backing of Brot für die Welt organized a one-day
capacity building workshop in Bamenda for Widow's, Indigenous women like the
Mbororos, Civil Society Organizations, Female lawyers and theologians over the weekend.
The aim of the come together was to train the widows and other women on their rights as stipulated by the Maputo Protocol signed in Mozambique and ratified in Cameroon 17 years after.
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| Founder Of Pearl Foundation, Nsono Josephine |
According to the founder of PEARL Foundation, Nsono Josephine, they were out to remind government that it has not been doing enough to protect the rights of widows.
"Article 20 of the Maputo Protocol indicates that women have rights to their bodies after their husband's death. They also have rights to their children because they are the primary care givers of the kids, access to their landed properties and others,"
Nsono Josephine said and regretted that government officials
haven't done enough to protect widow's rights.
"Women have been victimized over the years and the situation has been compounded by the Anglophone Crisis which has permanently separated women from their husbands. Some women have also been accused of killing their husbands thereby making things critical for them."
Role
Of Female Lawyers In Safeguarding Widow's And Women's Rights.
According to Lawyer Ambufei Esther who also attended the workshop,
women don't know that when their husbands depart from them, they have the right
to inheritance,
"We are members of the International Federation of Female Lawyers known in its French acronym as FIDA. Victims can access our services. We also do pro bono services to those who lack the resources to hire a lawyer to defend them in court,"
she said and added that
“Survivors of violations will be sensitized including the perpetrators, to understand that widows have rights to access justice. As legal minds, we will also work with our courts so that when listening to cases concerning widow's rights, they will be able to site the provisions put in place by the Maputo Protocol and see in to it that it is implemented stricto sensu."
She also pointed out that judgments that would subsequently be delivered sitting those provisions would serve as a deterrent to perpetrators of acts of violence on widows and even orphan children.
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| Lawyer Ambufei Esther |
She furthered that they, female lawyers will be training others so
that they can help those in remote places where violations are also on the
rise.
The one day workshop was also an opportunity for the widows and other women to share what they have been going through after losing their husbands, and what they Anglophone crisis has shattered their lives.
Participants also worked in groups to come up with ways in which they can better fight and protect the rights of widows and other vulnerable women.
To ensure sustainability as far as protecting the rights of widows
and other vulnerable women are concerned, a network of faith actors for gender
justice in Cameroon saw the light of day.
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| Participants In The Hall |
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