Women of Cameroon

Life as a woman in Cameroon is incredibly difficult. Most women do not have the opportunity to receive an education, and thus cannot read or write. The mindset in Cameroon is “why waste an education on a female? She is born to be someone’s wife and mother”.

Life for widows is even more terrible; Sharon says that “widowhood is like a curse”, and she tells us that widows are ignored by their communities. Even some pastors and churches turn widows away because of their outcast status. Both widows and women who are infertile are considered useless in their societies.

Concerning the daily lives of women in Cameroon, Sharon had the following to say: “The majority of women here arise before day break and leave the house before their children go to school. The woman goes to work the farm, carrying her baby on her back. From the income she earns from the farm, she is expected to educate her children, pay the family’s health care, clothe herself and children and feed the family. She returns home around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, after hauling water, where she has to prepare a meal for her family. She has no electricity or indoor plumbing and cooks over an open fire, using wood she has gathered. She might get to bed by 11 o’clock to get a few hours of rest before her back breaking day starts again.”

As Sharon reminds us in her report, “Thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed on YOU. Pray for your sisters around the world that are not seen for their rare qualities that only a woman possesses.  Ask God to open others’ eyes to see her rare qualities.”