GENDER, CITIZENSHIP AND PEASANT RESPONSES TO LAND GOVERNANCE IN CAMEROON: STATUS OF FORCE POWERS
GENDER, CITIZENSHIP AND PEASANT RESPONSES TO LAND GOVERNANCE IN CAMEROON: STATUS OF FORCE POWERS

Summary/Abstract: At the borders of the Sudanese and Bantu civilizations, Cameroon offers the observer the spectacle of an extraordinary mixture of diversity: ethnic groups, traditions and customs, the pact of its cultural legal foundation. However, since the 1996s, with the aim of bringing the populations closer to the decision-making centers and involving them in the management of public affairs and resources by means of decentralization, which is a mode of development of the structures of the administration in which a legal personality is conferred on communities of interest or public services. Decision-making power is exercised by bodies acting under a control of simple legality. In its implementation, decentralization has two fundamental aspects: one technical and the other territorial. In the latter case, it necessarily results in taking into account a specifically patio-geographical interest: it therefore has a territorial base, one material element of which is land or land. The term land refers to everything that is directly or indirectly related to the land (soil, forest, wildlife, water, etc.) and to the relationships between people around the land. Moreover, decentralization aims for a better involvement of women in policies to fight against poverty by promoting their civic participation. Citizenship taken from this perspective refers to: “Belonging to a group or community, as well as the rights and duties associated with it. It is not simply a status conferring rights and obligations but also a practice allowing individuals to take part in the construction of their societies. Citizenship is based on principles of equality in access to well-being for each individual without distinction of social categories. However, the objective of equity through active and participatory citizenship of all sections of the population, particularly women, young people and the excluded in general, remains very weakly taken into account. Gender remains a component that is only added in the discourse. One of the postulates within the framework of this research is that the mechanisms and laws in force in the field of land and natural resource management, in a context of decentralization, have not led to access, gender-equitable control and participation in local communities. Thus, on the basis of a multidisciplinary methodology, a theory focused on local development and an abundance of sources made: archival notes, works, memoirs, theses, articles, decrees, laws, and newspaper clippings. This article introduces gender analysis on the impact of social gender relations and questions the way in which status and social roles are determined by belonging to a given sex.

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