Women and Rural Development in the Context of Decentralisation in Tubah Council, North West Region of Cameroon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47672/ijpid.1745Keywords:
Rural Development, Decentralisation, Gender, Tubah Council, Nord-West Region of CameroonAbstract
Purpose: Before 1990s, the decentralisation process in Cameroon has gone through several stages. This process really materialised with the revision of the Cameroon Constitution in 1996. Owing to that, several laws concerning this process were promulgated. Decentralisation should eventually make all decentralised territorial authorities autonomous. This government policy, which is part of the bottom-up approach, has the responsibility to promote the participation of the population. Thus, one is entitled to ask how decentralisation in Cameroon can impact women's participation in rural development in the Tubah council?
Materials and Methods: To answer this question, primary and secondary data were mobilised and processed according to appropriate methods for the variables studied. Primary data were collected from observation, interviews of key informants and administration of questionnaires addressed to a sample of 145 people in the council area. Secondary data were obtained from internet sources, textbooks as well as documentations and libraries. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptives and inferentials statistics meanwhile content analysis was used for qualitative data analysis.
Findings: The results show that even if the decentralisation process does not pay particular attention to women, it contributes to the creation of a favourable framework for local development initiatives. Thus, 79% of the women in the Tubah area act individually, compared with 21% who take part in group actions. Their actions varied, with 40% in the field of agriculture and 30% to drinking water supply projects. Identified as one of the pillars of development in rural areas, the intervention of women, if well supervised and structured, it can boost development in a sustainable and effective way.
Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommends that councils within the process of decentralisation should encourage women participation in rural development by ensuring their high representativeness. It also goes in line with the theory of decentralisation, which states that in order to promote local and participatory development, the transfer of power to local authorities must be effective. The study emphasises on the fact that, the transfer should not only be at the level of power and finances, but it should also include the social categories, must especially women, who are one of the main actors of rural development in Cameroon.
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