Deconstructing Masculinity in a ‘Female Bastion’: Ambiguities, Contradictions and Insights

This article is informed by my experiences teaching women’s studies and specifically feminist theory to predominantly female and male students offering Women’s studies. As a mainstream academic discipline at the University of Buea, housing the only such Department in Cameroon’s Higher Education system, this study uncovers the broader polemics regarding gender and women’s studies. Against the backdrop of a patriarchal society, this study attempts to account for the shifting strands on masculinity and femininity and gender transgressions as played out by students taking women’s studies. It also analyses the notions, misconceptions and stereotypes that characterise the discipline of women’s studies, specifically at the University of Buea, a replica of the cultural mindset across Cameroon, largely perceived as a female bastion. Borrowing from Derrida’s concept of deconstruction, this paper situates inherent biases, contradictions and the mediations surrounding the discipline. The standpoints of male and female students are sought on their reasons for taking women’s studies, how they are perceived by their peers in the University of Buea, the stereotypes and labels they are christened with and the ambivalence that surrounds women’s studies as a field of scholarship. The study concludes that women’s studies is largely construed as a ‘women’s affair’ and a “no go” area for males, on the pain of being considered effeminate while the female students are seen as fully ‘empowered’ and, therefore, a potential threat to the patriarchal order. Yet the survival of women’s studies as a discipline rests squarely on how it can be viewed by society at large

Unbending Gender Narratives in African Literature

The last century has witnessed an upsurge in literature triggered by the feminist movement. This unprecedented event has transformed the various literary genres that are being deconstructed to suit the changing times. African literature has not been spared by the universalized world order. The paper attempts a re-analysis of gender inequality from the pre-colonial to post-colonial period from the lenses of literary narratives. Male writers like Chinua Achebe, Elechi Amadi, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, and Cyprain Ekwensi in their literary mass are accused of condoning patriarchy, are deeply entrenched in a macho conviviality and a one dimensional and minimalised presentation of women who are demoted and assume peripheral roles. Their penchant to portray an androcentric narrative is at variance with the female gender that are trivialized through practices like patriarchy, tradition, culture, gender socialization process, marriage and domestic enslavement. The paper concludes with some contemporary showcases and meta-narratives by both male and female writers like Buchi Emecheta, Mariama Bâ, Ama Ata Aidoo, Flora Nwapa, Sembene Ousmane and Leopold Sedar Senghor who attempt to bridge the gender rifts in the African literary landscape

Curating indigenous knowledge and practices for sustainable development: possibilities for a socio-ecologically-minded university

Higher education continues to play an integral role in fostering regional development and this is underpinned by the concept that universities possess a social responsibility as proponents of progress in relation to society's socio-economic, political and environmental challenges. Different approaches have been articulated but none seems to provide a useful framework to support African universities’ contribution to development in their regions. This paper interrogates the idea of the ecological university and moves on to posit the possibility for a socio-ecological premise to meet environmental and societal needs, based on a symbiotic relationship between indigenous practices and a university’s capacity to engender sustainable development. Findings from an in-depth analysis of participants' transcripts drawn from qualitative responses depict indigenous knowledge and practices which can galvanise environmental and societal sustainability, and bring to the fore the idea of the socio-ecologically-minded university

Crossing Rural-Urban Spaces

Traverser les espaces ruraux-urbains. Les Takumbeng et l’activisme dans la croisade démocratique du Cameroun. – Cet article s’intéresse au pouvoir exercé par les femmes au sein des sociétés secrètes et autres « enclaves féminines » au Cameroun et ailleurs. Il montre comment ce pouvoir est soumis à une constante transformation dans le paysage politique moderne. Les soulèvements, protestations et manifestations instigués par les femmes ont déjà été observés dans certaines sociétés camerounaises et dans d’autres régions d’Afrique, mais cet article s’intéresse tout particulièrement à la société féminine traditionnelle des Takumbeng et à sa politisation en cette période de démocratisation et de multipartisme. Nous examinerons la transformation de ce groupe dans le contexte de l’agitation collective et analyserons quel impact il subit sur la scène politique actuelle qui est caractérisée par une immense déception face au dédain et aux politiques non démocratiques du gouvernement national en place. Cette étude révèle le symbolisme et les métaphores, les interactions et raisons d’être culturelles qui se cachent derrière l’activisme de ce groupe en se plaçant du point de vue des acteurs en milieu urbain. L’article conclut que le groupe a accentué son combat continu pour la démocratie en s’appuyant sur son expérience de résistance, en ravivant la flamme de la démocratie sociale et en élevant la conscience politique dans la province Nord-Ouest du Cameroun, bastion du parti d’opposition, le Front social-démocrate.The article focuses on the power women wielded within secret societies and other women’s enclaves in Cameroon and beyond. It shows how this power is continuously being transformed in the modern political landscape. Female riots, protests and demonstrations have been recorded in certain societies in Cameroon and elsewhere in Africa but this paper looks at the Takumbeng traditional female society and its politicisation in the context of multiparty politics and democratisation. In this paper, the transformation of the group is examined against the backdrop of collective agitation and how it impacted on the political scene marked by an atmosphere of disenchantment with the highhandedness and undemocratic policies of the national government in place. The study captures the symbolism and metaphors, the cultural interplay and raison d’être behind the group’s activism from the lenses of the actors as played-out in an urban milieu. It concludes that the group enhanced the continuing struggle for democratic deepening through a legacy of resistance, restoring the flame of social democracy, raising political consciousness in the Northwest Province of Cameroon, a bastion of the Social Democratic Front opposition party

Optimizing community-driven development through sage tradition in Cameroon

Powering community development requires a re-invention of traditional authority. This paper interrogates this proposition: how does sage tradition engender social resilience and what is the impact of traditional authority on the modern governance architecture? Sage tradition construed culturally as elder-led authority is anchored on wisdom and respect for elders—a pivotal asset in community development transactions. Informed by indigenous knowledge, social capital and asset-based concepts, an empirical account of strategic leadership by the elderly is proffered, uncovering indigenous governance in the North West Region, Cameroon. A pyramidal power structure validates village elders as key players in advancing social justice. They offer counsel and arbitrate in community affairs and mobilise community members for infrastructure provision—community halls, equipping schools, digging roads, building bridges and supply of fresh water. Though elder esteemed traditions prove perfunctory, findings show communities are benefiting from the accumulated, incremental cultural assets factored into local development. The paper concludes that thriving cultural assets should be amalgamated through a policy drive that taps into the utility of traditional authority, in synergy with modern state institutions to bolster social development, address poverty and social inequality

To formalize or not to formalize: women entrepreneurs’ sensemaking of business registration in the context of Nepal

Despite the depiction of decisions to formalize informal firms as rational and ethical, many entrepreneurs in developing countries continue to operate informally regardless of its perceived illicit status. While existing research on why entrepreneurs choose informality emphasizes the economic costs and benefits of such decisions, this often overlooks the realities of the informal economy and the constraints which marginal populations—particularly women—face. In this paper, we use institutional theory and sensemaking to understand the experiences of women in the informal economy and what formalization means to them. We use a qualitative approach to collect data from 90 women entrepreneurs in three different cities in Nepal. In our findings, we identify three groups of women with distinctive understandings of formalization—business sustainability, livelihood sufficiency and strategic alignment. Their interpretation of formalization reveals the complex, dynamic, and cyclical nature of formalization decisions. Decisions are also guided by the optimization of social and emotional logics, whereby formalization is conceived differently depending on different life stages, experiences within the informal economy and wider socio-cultural contexts. Our findings highlight the ethical implications of formalization where being a ‘good citizen’, rather than complying with formal rules and regulations, is about attuning to and fitting in with socially prescribed roles. Our research provides a nuanced view of formalization decisions, challenging idealized and ethical notions of formalization as a desired end state

The Mobile Phone in the Diffusion of Knowledge for Institutional Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study assesses the mobile phone in the diffusion of knowledge for better governance in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2012. For this purpose we employ Generalised Method of Moments with forward orthogonal deviations. The empirical evidence is based on three complementary knowledge diffusion variables (innovation, internet penetration and educational quality) and 10 governance indicators that are bundled and unbundled. The following are the main findings. First, there is an unconditional positive effect of mobile phone penetration on good governance. Second, the net effects on political, economic, and institutional governances that are associated with the interaction of the mobile phone with knowledge diffusion variables are positive for the most part. Third, countries with low levels of governance are catching-up their counterparts with higher levels of governance. The above findings are broadly consistent with theoretical underpinnings on the relevance of mobile phones in mitigating bad governance in Africa. The evidence of some insignificant net effects and decreasing marginal impacts may be an indication that the mobile phone could also be employed to decrease government quality. Overall, this study has established net positive effects for the most part. Five rationales could elicit the positive net effects on good governance from the interaction between mobile phones and knowledge diffusion, among others, the knowledge variables enhance: reach, access, adoption, cost-effectiveness, and interaction. In a nut shell, the positive net effects are apparent because the knowledge diffusion variables complement mobile phones in reducing information asymmetry and monopoly that create conducive conditions for bad governance. The contribution of the findings to existing theories and justifications of the underlying positive net effects are discussed

The role of governance in mobile phones for inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study assesses the synergy effects of governance in mobile phone penetration for inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa with data for the period 2000–2012. It employs a battery of interactive estimation techniques, namely: Fixed effects, Generalised Method of Moments and Tobit regressions. Concepts of political (voice and accountability and political stability/no violence), economic (government effectiveness and regulation quality) and institutional (corruption-control and rule of law) governance are employed. The following findings are established. The previously apparent positive correlation between mobile phones and inclusive development can be extended to a positive effect. Although political governance is overwhelmingly not significant across estimated models, the average effects from economic governance are higher relative to institutional governance. On the interactions between mobile phones and governance variables, while none are apparent in Fixed effects regressions, there are significant synergy effects in Generalised Method of Moments and Tobit estimations, notably, from: regulation quality in the former and political stability, voice and accountability and rule of law in the latter. There is consistent evidence of convergence in inclusive human development. Policy implications are discussed

The Impact of Terrorism on Governance in African Countries

This study investigates how terrorism affects governance in 53 African countries for the period 1998–2012. Four terrorism indicators are used namely: domestic, transnational, unclear, and total terrorism. Ten bundled and unbundled governance indicators are also employed namely: political governance (consisting of political stability and voice and accountability), economic governance (encompassing government effectiveness and regulation quality); institutional governance (entailing corruption-control and the rule of law), and general governance. The governance indicators are bundled by means of principal component analysis. The empirical evidence is based on Generalized Method of Moments. Three key findings are established. First, all selected terrorism dynamics negatively affect political governance and its constituents. Second, evidence of a negative relationship is sparingly apparent in economic governance and its components. Third, no proof was confirmed in relation to the impact of terrorism and institutional governance with its elements. Fourth, compared with domestic terrorism, transnational terrorism more negatively and significantly affects political, economic, and general governances. Policy implications are discussed