Cameroon's Biya easily wins 7th term; low Anglophone turnout

October 23, 2018

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Africa's oldest president, Cameroon's Paul Biya, easily won a seventh term on Monday after a Constitutional Council that he appointed rejected all legal challenges to the election. The United States noted irregularities that "may not have affected the outcome but created an impression that the election was not credible or genuinely free and fair."

Now analysts say the country threatened by separatists faces further turmoil if Biya, who will be 92 when the new term ends, doesn't start preparing Cameroon for life without him after decades in power.

Major cities saw heavy troop deployment ahead of the election announcement as the government banned rallies by the opposition, which had alleged fraud. Biya received more than 71 percent of the vote, far ahead of Maurice Kamto's 14 percent.

The Oct. 7 election saw few voters in English-speaking regions after nearly a quarter-million people fled unrest by Anglophone separatists. The turnout in the Southwest was 15 percent and in the Northwest 5 percent while Biya won in both regions with more than 77 percent of the vote. Overall election turnout was 53 percent.

Fighting between the separatists' ragtag bands and security forces accused by rights groups of abuses has killed hundreds and posed a serious challenge for Cameroon, a close U.S. security ally against extremism and a new member of the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The U.S. statement did not give details on the "irregularities." But the fraud allegations and low turnout mean a weaker mandate for the 85-year-old Biya, who has led since 1982. The government did away with presidential term limits several years ago, part of a trend in Central Africa that has dismayed many.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took note of the official announcement of results and called for all disputes to be handled "through established legal channels," U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said. He added that Guterres said dialogue is the best path to unity.

"What I can tell you is that Cameroon will never be the same again," human rights lawyer Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla told The Associated Press. While legal options for challenging election results have been exhausted, Cameroonians are more aware of their rights after watching the Constitutional Council's hearings, he said.

The fractured opposition brought well over a dozen legal challenges but all were rejected by the council, a collection of high-ranking magistrates and members of Biya's administration. The election occurred largely without Western election monitors.

The council called the election free and fair despite security challenges. A close Biya aide, Dion Ngute, said he wasn't surprised by the win because the president is "very persevering ... who tells Cameroonians what can be done and what is not possible to be done."

Opposition candidate Joshua Osih, who has compared the inability of English-speaking voters to reach the polls to South Africa's former system of apartheid, accused Biya of using the machinery of the state to ensure another term.

Monday's troop deployment was "intended to punish the majority of Cameroonians who are disgruntled with Biya's long stay in power and want him out," Osih said. Troops were seen at the homes of opposition candidates Kanto and Cabral Libii, who had urged Cameroonians to defend their rights if they feel cheated.

The minister of territorial administration, Paul Atanga Nji, said the troops were not meant to intimidate people but rather protect them from "politicians who are pushing naive youth to the streets." Dissatisfaction has been high in the English-speaking Southwest and Northwest, where analyst Hans De Marie Heungoup with the International Crisis Group said only a few counties' polling stations opened. Biya didn't campaign there.

"Normally the head of state should be worried to be elected when two of the 10 regions of the country almost have not participated," Heungoup told the AP. "But in the reality of Cameroon, the president doesn't care."

The Anglophone unrest began after lawyers and teachers in the English-speaking regions peacefully protested what they called creeping marginalization by Cameroon's French-speaking majority. English-speakers make up about 20 percent of the population.

After the government cracked down, armed separatists emerged and declared an independent state of Ambazonia. Civilians caught in the fighting have pleaded for peace. Now everything depends on how Biya interprets his new mandate, Simon Munzu, a former U.N diplomat and coordinator of next month's Anglophone General Conference, told the AP. The conference organized by religious leaders focuses on a possible national dialogue.

If the president sees this as a chance to address Anglophone grievances "we should be optimistic," Munzu said. But if Biya, influenced by hardliners, sees the vote as approval of the status quo, "it will be a disaster. It will mean he adopts a high-handed attitude, not wanting to talk to anybody ... preferring to pursue the military approach."

Biya, whom observers describe as a distant figure even to ambassadors and some of his ministers, will be invited to the Anglophone conference, Munzu said. Munzu and Heungoup warned that Cameroon faces disaster if Biya suddenly leaves power without preparing for a transition even within the ruling party, with its own tensions along generational and ethnic lines.

"I can only hope he is thinking about the interests of the nation," Munzu said. Cameroonians are hungry for a proper democracy, he added, noting the country's colonial past and legacy of autocratic rule: "They didn't think it would last this long."

Associated Press writer Edwin Kindzeka Moki reported this story in Yaounde and AP writer Cara Anna reported from Johannesburg.

Cameroon votes as separatists pose threat; Biya win likely

October 07, 2018

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Polls opened Sunday in Cameroon as Africa's oldest leader is widely expected to win another term even as English-speaking separatists threaten to disrupt the election and many who have fled the unrest are unable to vote.

President Paul Biya has held office since 1982 and vows to end a crisis that has killed more than 400 people in the Central African nation's Southwest and Northwest territories in the past year. The fractured opposition has been unable to rally behind a strong challenger to the 85-year-old leader.

A victory likely would come with a weakened mandate for Biya as many residents of the troubled English-speaking Southwest and Northwest regions have fled elsewhere. By law, voters can only cast a ballot in the community where they are registered.

Voting day has already been marked by violence. The military killed two armed men in the English-speaking northwest town of Bamenda, according to Governor Deben Tchoffo of the Northwest region. "We shall not allow terrorists to disrupt the election," he said. "I salute the maturity of people who are braving the threats and carrying out their civic duties. We are informed that armed men are shooting indiscriminately to frighten voters, we shall not allow such a thing to happen."

Gun fighting between the military and separatists began Saturday in at least six towns and villages including Nkambe, Mamfe and Kumbo. Several buildings have been burned, including residences where voting material is thought to have been stored.

"The wave of attacks will not deter us from doing our job," said Enow Abrams Egbe, chairman of ELECAM, the election commission. Security has been increased and people should not be scared to vote, said Cameroon territorial administration minister Paul Atanga Nji.

All voters in the English-speaking regions go through screening, present voter's cards and identity cards before they are able to cast a ballot. Numbers were low at the start of the vote Sunday. In the French-speaking regions, however, hundreds lined up early eager to vote.

"I have performed my civic duty. It indicates I am a true Cameroonian. I voted for Biya because he is the one who promised to improve the health care system," said Julienne Ngono, a voter at the Bastos primary school polling center where president Biya will vote.

Cyril Bayam also said he'd vote in favor of Biya. "I registered to vote where Biya is voting to support him," he said. "I know many people who registered to vote here are his ministers." More than 6.6 million people across Cameroon are registered to vote.

On Friday, opposition candidate Akere Muna withdrew from the race to support Maurice Kamto. However, despite attempts to remove his ballot papers the electoral chairman Egbe said: "We were informed late and we cannot withdraw them since we do not have the material means."

Campaign materials were also meant to be taken down before the vote, but posters of Biya still cover neighborhoods. The Election Commission and government say they will make provisions for displaced voters, but many say they will not be able to vote amid threats by separatists. Cameroon also battles with Boko Haram extremists in its Far North, where more than more than 230,000 people have been displaced.

More than 200,000 people have been displaced because of violence by both separatists and the military in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, with many towns simply abandoned. The ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement attempted to campaign normally in the affected regions, holding several rallies, but Biya did not appear. The party says at least eight of its officials have been abducted and some supporters attacked.

Election observers, including the African Union, have said they will not be carrying out their work in the troubled southwest and northwest because of the crisis. What began as protests two years ago by teachers and lawyers in the English-speaking regions against what they called their marginalization by majority French speakers turned deadly after a government crackdown. The separatists emerged, cheered on by some in Cameroon's diaspora, including the United States.

Then fringe groups became violent, clashing with security forces that have been a close ally of the U.S. in regional counterterror efforts but face accusations of human rights abuses. Panicked civilians are caught in the middle.

AP reporter Carley Petesch in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

5 Boko Haram leaders arrested; dozens of captives freed

May 14, 2016

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — The multinational forces fighting the Islamic extremists of Boko Haram have arrested five of the group's leaders and freed dozens of captive women and children, Cameroon's government announced Saturday.

The raids targeting Boko Haram bases in the northern Madawaya forest earlier this month freed 28 children and at least 18 women, government spokesman Issa Tchiroma said. Boko Haram had set up camp in the forest after fleeing another military operation in neighboring Nigeria and had been training captive young girls and women as suicide bombers, he said.

The news came as French President Francois Hollande joined several West African leaders at a summit in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, where they discussed progress in the fight against Boko Haram and how to resolve the humanitarian crisis it has created. The extremist group has forced more than 2 million people to flee their homes, some across borders.

"We have to make sure they can get back to their homes," Hollande said after meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari before the summit, noting the need for "the right development policies." Marginalization and corruption has allowed the Islamic extremists to flourish in northeast Nigeria.

Both leaders stressed the success of a multinational force of Nigeria and its neighbors — helped by training, intelligence and information-sharing by France, Britain and the United States — that has recaptured territory where Boko Haram had declared an Islamic caliphate. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond was at the summit along with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"Now our main problem is the rehabilitation of infrastructure destroyed — educational, health, bridges blown, etc," Buhari said. But many refugees say they will not return home until it is safe and there are doubts Nigeria's military can secure the vast rural areas where Boko Haram now roams. The extremists have turned to using suicide bombers, often women and girls, to hit soft targets like mosques and marketplaces.

The nearly 7-year insurgency, which has spread beyond Nigeria's borders, has killed at least 20,000 people, according to Amnesty International.

Nigeria president visits Cameroon to discuss militant threat

July 29, 2015

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — The president of Nigeria made his first official state visit to neighboring Cameroon on Wednesday, as the two former enemies struggle to contain the mutual threat posed by Islamic militants carrying out suicide bombings across the region.

New Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari came to Cameroon's capital to bolster support for a multinational army to fight the Boko Haram uprising that has claimed at least 60 lives in recent days in Cameroon alone.

The violence has displaced nearly 2 million people and killed 20,000 across the region where the borders of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad meet in the course of the 6-year uprising. Attacks have mounted over the past year in Cameroon's far north and in Chad's capital as the militants seek retaliation for those countries' military aid in the Nigerian army's fight against Boko Haram.

The group drew international prominence when it abducted nearly 300 girls from Chibok, sparking an international campaign for their return that has stalled. Girls and young women have increasingly been used as suicide bombers in attacks on civilians.

Also complicating the fight has been the long-tense relations between Cameroon and Nigeria, and concerns over the role of Chad's military might on Nigerian soil. The U.N. Security Council has issued a statement calling for "increased regional cooperation."

Hard feelings between Nigeria and Cameroon date back to a 1980s land dispute. More recently, Nigeria accused Cameroon of doing little to prevent Boko Haram from using their territory as a refuge. Cameroon saw Buhari's failure to visit earlier as a snub after he traveled to Niger and Chad, and the Cameroonian president, Paul Biya, didn't attend Buhari's May inauguration.

Chad to send troops to Cameroon against Boko Haram

16 January 2015 Friday

Chad will send a large number of troops to neighboring Cameroon to help it fight increasing incursions from Boko Haram militants attacking from Nigeria, the Central African nation's president said on Thursday.

The announcement by President Paul Biya did not specify how many troops Chad will send, but comes a day after the Chadian government said it will actively help Cameroon fight Boko Haram militants.

Chad President Idriss Deby Itno "has decided to send a large contingent of Chadian armed forces to help the Cameroonian Armed Forces facing...repeated attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist sect," Biya said in the statement on the presidency's website.

Biya has called for international military help to fight the militant group that has seized swathes of northern Nigeria and is threatening neighbors who share borders with the northeastern zones occupied by the group.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in the region as Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy, prepares for a crucial Feb. 14 presidential election.

The group has also carried out a number of attacks and raids across the border in northern Cameroon, prompting the government to deploy thousands of troops including special forces.

United Nations Special Representative for West Africa Mohamed Ibn Chambas on Thursday, urged Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, the four nations in the region immediately threatened by Boko Haram, to set aside their differences and agree on a command structure and strategy for a regional force to defeat the militants.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153119/chad-to-send-troops-to-cameroon-against-boko-haram.

CAMEROON: Protect Your Daughters, Iron Their Breasts

By Eva Fernandez Ortiz

CARDIFF, UK, Oct 1 2011 (Street News Service) - “Please God, make my breasts disappear.” Joyce Forghab used to pray the same line every night during the month she was suffering from breast ironing. The shocking practice, carried out by a quarter of mothers in Cameroon, is meant to reverse female sexual development.

Joyce was only eight years old when the drama began. Her mother would take a flat stone and heat it over the fire for several minutes until it was burning. “She protected her hands because she knew it was really hot. She took it, pressed it against my breasts and massaged them really well,” recalls Joyce, now 25 years old. “It was very, very painful… I had to run away from the house. It was horrible.”

Joyce’s experience is no exception in Cameroon. An estimated one in four girls suffers from the practice in their childhood. Breast ironing is a traditional ritual in which, by using heated and flat objects, a girl’s growing breasts are pressed in order to suppress and reverse their development. The act is usually performed by a girl’s mother or aunt.

To iron breasts they mostly use a wooden pestle or a stone, other tools employed include coconut shells, grinding stones, ladles, spatulas and hammers – all carefully heated over burning coals.

“Breast ironing has existed as long as Cameroon has existed,” says Sinou Tchana, Cameroonian gynaecologist and vice-president of the Cameroonian Association of Female Doctors. In the early nineties, when her association started touring the ten regions of Cameroon to find out what practices could have been affecting female sexuality, they were shocked by the prevalence of breast ironing in most parts of the country.

“We explained that it was not good, but the mothers and the aunts told us that it was normal for them that when the breasts are developing they have to iron them to avoid their growing. They did not see the dangers of what they were doing,” explains Dr. Tchana.
Widespread

Renata, a women’s association in Cameroon, reported in 2006 that the breast ironing rate was most prevalent in two Cameroonian areas: the Coast at 53 percent and the North-West, at 31 percent. Renata’s study also showed that it was more common in the Christian and Animist South (30-50 percent) than in the Muslim North (10 percent).

Although breast ironing is most widely practiced in Cameroon, it also occurs in Guinea-Bissau, West and Central Africa, including Chad, Togo, Benin and Guinea-Conakry.

Doctor Tchana often comes across both victims and perpetrators of the ritual in her clinic. Often, mothers do not realize what they are doing to their daughters. She recalls one woman coming in to the practice about a year ago, begging for forgiveness:

“Forgive me doctor, I was not measuring the pain, but when I burnt myself I realized the type of suffering my little girl had to endure,” she cried. The woman was ironing her daughter’s breast when she burnt her hand. That is why she had come to see the doctor.

“When they take the stone from the fire they start ironing one breast first. In the case of that girl, one was really, really destroyed; the other one was not as bad. But the result is the same. Now one breast is smaller than the other one,” said Dr. Tchana.

Breast ironing leads to two main opposite effects on women’s breasts. On one hand, it can reduce its size considerably, leaving girls flat-chested. Or, it provokes rather the opposite reaction: by destroying the breast tissue, the breast just becomes a bag of fat without any muscle or shape. This is what happened to Joyce.

“My breasts have collapsed because of breast ironing. It has nothing to do with giving birth, because before having my child I already had the problem. I cannot be without my bra; I need it all the time, even when I am sleeping or feeding my baby,” she said.

Dr. Tchana clarifies: “Really small breasts usually are due to the fact that families used the ‘right0 technique. This means the stones were not too warm and the breasts are ironed equally all over. On the contrary, when bad techniques are used – very hot stones and quick ironing – oversized breasts and burning are major consequences. In all cases, however, you have problems of reconstruction and it is very expensive because nobody now would pay for it.”

Apart from being painful and psychologically traumatic, breast ironing exposes girls to multiple health problems. According to many medical reports, it can lead to abscesses, itching, inability to breastfeed the babies, infection, deformity or disappearance of the breasts, cysts, tissue damage and even breast cancer.

“I had one girl who died of breast cancer aged 24. You can have breast cancer in the cases in which the ironing is so intense that it destructs all the breast tissue,” explains Dr. Tchana.

So why?

With all the medical evidence present, why do a quarter of Cameroonian girls still have to experience the torturous practice? Ze Jeanne, a 57-year-old Cameroonian woman and mother of eight, clarifies her reasons. “When the breasts of a young girl start growing, any man can come to her and try to have sex with her so, in order to help the girls continue school, we have to do breast ironing,” she says.

She sits calmly in an armchair in her house, twenty minutes from Yaoundé city center. Her daughter Clarisse is lying in a sofa next to her. Ze explains that she ironed the breasts of all her daughters when they started developing too early.

“In her case,” says Ze pointing to Clarisse, “her breasts started growing at nine, so I was obliged to do breast ironing to her in order to stop it. I did not do it to destroy the breast, but to help the girl,” she insists.

Breast ironing is justified by Cameroonian women for many reasons. Apart from being historically rooted in their culture, it is used to avoid sexual contact between young girls and boys. By preventing girls’ bodies from the sign of emerging sexuality, mothers try to make sure that their girls remain virginal and pure and prevent them from becoming visibly fertile women – and potential mothers.

Mothers are not completely unjustified in their fears. Early sexual encounters can lead these young teenagers to unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, possible rapes or the transmission of sexual diseases. Burning girls’ emerging breasts to many mothers seems a far better option than the risk of the above. It is a measure born out of love and care for their daughters, they argue. But does it work?

Most of the young victims of breast ironing say the practice is extremely painful. And they insist that still does not prevent sexual attention.

“It is not the best way of avoiding pregnancies because after all, somebody like me can still get pregnant. I had a child before getting married, so in my case it did not help at all. For me it (sexual awareness) is all in the head. Once you get older, you think twice about the risks you are taking,” says Joyce.

Mother Ze sees the matter differently. She believes breast ironing has saved her and her daughters from unwanted pregnancies by avoiding them looking womanly too early. “My daughters have accepted that breast ironing is part of our tradition. When the girl is still young, it is risky for her to let her breasts develop. It is risky for her future. If she would have an unwanted pregnancy at that age, things would be difficult for her later on.”

Although Ze believes her youngest daughter Clarisse accepts breast ironing, the girl’s reaction suggests something else. When Clarisse is asked whether or not she will do it to her daughter, she replies emphatically: “I would not do that to my child.”

The taboo related to sexuality is huge and obvious throughout Cameroon. Many girls are having their breasts ironed not even knowing why. “At the age of nine, girls did not know about sex so I did not explain them anything. However, when they were eleven and started asking: ‘Why did you do this to me when I was nine?’ I gave them some explanations,” says mother Ze.

Joyce, on the other hand, demanded an explanation from the first moment she had a burning stone on her chest. “My mum told me that I was too young to have breasts and if she allowed me to have them then men would come near me. She also said that I would not be able to grow tall,” she recalls.

Men have no idea

Joseph Ngondi, a 29-year-old Cameroonian man, came across breast ironing when he was 26. He was in a hotel room with his new girlfriend. It was their first night together. When she took her top off, he saw that instead of breasts, she had two dark patches on her flat chest. He was shocked.

“I started asking to myself what happened to that girl, I was even afraid, thinking of an illness which could have affected her,” says Joseph, “The girl noticed my strange look at her breasts and decided to hide them. She felt ashamed.”

He asked her what happened to her breasts. “Then she revealed to me that her mother ironed her breasts when she was 11. It was not easy for the girl to decide to tell me that story.”

Especially in cities, where breast ironing is performed as a contraceptive method rather than a tradition alone, many men remain unaware of the practice. Joseph was clueless about it, too: “It was only at that moment that I realized what breast ironing really was. Before that, I just used to hear about it, but without any explanation.”

Many Cameroonian mothers who perform the ritual as a contraceptive measure often do not talk about it with relatives. Georgette Taku, executive secretary of Renata’s women’s association, explains: “They hide it because sometimes there is no discussion in the family about sexual education. Plus, women are the ones supposed to take care of the children and, eventually, if the girl becomes pregnant, the mother is the one to blame.”

According to Taku, in many Cameroonian families when a young teenager becomes pregnant, the father can force both mother and daughter to leave the house.

On the other hand, in rural areas where breast ironing is performed as a ritual more than as a contraceptive method, men are completely aware of it. “There is nothing to hide. It is not a bad thing according to the tradition and everyone in the family should be present,” says mother Ze.

Breast ironing victim Joyce agrees with this, and says some men in rural areas even perform the practice themselves: “Every man knows about it and if their wife has passed away, they are supposed to do it.”

“Grandma wants to burn me”

“Mama, mama… Please, come! Grandma wants to burn me!” This is the desperate call that Dr. Tchana received from her daughter Kat in 1997.

“She was 11 years old then and was spending her holidays in Bangangté, the village I come from. My mother-in-law is a very qualified midwife there and wanted to iron Kat’s breasts. I will never forget my daughter’s call, she was so afraid. I said to Kat: ‘Do not worry, I am coming, just tell Grandma that you want Mama to be there when you are having breast ironing’.”

It was a Friday, 7pm, and Dr. Tchana took her car and raced to the village. “My mother-in-law was very angry because my daughter had called me. I told her not to do it, ‘I am a doctor, I know better than you’, I said. She told me that she was a nurse and she also knew what she was doing. Finally, Kat’s breast were not ironed, I would never have allowed it.”

Origins

The geographical origins of breast ironing are unclear. While many Cameroonians claim that it is a tradition from the rural areas, other sources such as the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) reported in 2007 that it was more frequently practiced in cities than in villages.

It has been little more than a century since Cameroon developed cities such as Yaoundé, its political capital, founded in 1888; or Douala, its economic capital and the largest Cameroonian city. This might reinforce the ‘rural origin’ hypothesis. Plus, the fact that breast ironing is more publicly criticized in cities, might convey the perception that its practice is higher in rural areas.

Nevertheless, the ‘city origin’ argument also carries weight. Since Cameroonian girls’ rate of studies is considerably higher in cities than in villages, mothers may well be more likely to practice of breast ironing so their daughters keep up with their studies without being burdened by an unwanted pregnancy.

Dr. Tchana says that it is practiced both in cities and in rural areas, but argues the risk is higher in cities. “Because of the pain that breast ironing causes, many young girls run away from their houses. While in villages they would go to their aunt’s, Chief’s or neighbors’ home, the city has more dangers outside.”

Ironically, the practice this way can lead to more unwanted pregnancies. As Dr. Tchana explains: “Many of these (runaway) girls have nothing and live in their boyfriend’s house. If he asks her for sex she feels she cannot say no… What else can they do?”

Bellies targeted

Unfortunately, breasts are not the only target for “ironing” in Cameroon. Belly ironing, also known as postpartum massaging, is another harmful traditional practice present in the country. According to Renata, it is even more widespread than breast ironing, being just as painful and also leaving women with horrible physical and psychic scars.

In belly ironing, a traditional broom steeped in boiling water is used to whip the belly of a woman who has just given birth. Then, a towel is soaked in boiling water to massage the different parts of the body and in some regions, the woman is asked to sit on a bucket of hot water so the vapor penetrates her vagina and uterus.

Even this can cause burns, vaginal infections, cervix damage or scars, Cameroonian women accept it because the tradition says that it is very important to evacuate the remaining blood after delivering a baby.

“It is practically impossible not to notice that the massage is being done in the neighborhood because the painful cry of the victim awakes the neighbors early in the morning,” mentions Renata’s guide about sexual health.

It is not unusual to walk around Yaoundé’s neighborhood and hear the desperate cry of a girl coming from a house. The anxiety felt by a foreigner thinking “What is going on in there?,” “What is happening to that poor girl?” is in contrast with the apparent indifference shown by Cameroonians, who continue with their lives without paying any attention to the shouts.

A sign of sexual maturity

Traditional harmful practices against women are manifold across human history. They include tortures such as Chinese foot binding, rib-breaking corsets, female genital mutilation and the chastity belt of the Middle Ages. All shared a common purpose: to benefit men, either by assuring women’s fidelity or by improving their beauty according to contemporary taste.

Breast ironing is different. Instead of trying to benefit men, this is one of the few practices that tortures women for their own “good” in a distorted effort by women on women to protect them from men by making them less desirable.

In understanding Cameroonian society, the significance of breasts and their symbolic value must be taken into account. “A girl can get married as soon as she starts having breasts,” explains Renata’s spokesperson Taku. “The breasts show that a girl is ready to have sex.”

During her school days, Joyce was known as “Miss Lolo” alluding to her early growing breasts. “I felt very, very ashamed. I thought, ‘If my parents are ironing my breasts at that age it means that I am not supposed to have them.’ To have breasts was like a taboo, like something bad. So I used to walk putting my hand over my breast in order that people do not to see it. I was not feeling free.”

Ze’s mother did it to her, Ze did it to her daughters and she has no doubt that one day she will do it to her granddaughters, too. She doesn’t feel she owes anyone an explanation: “Most of us Bantu people do it as a tradition, without any specific explanation. You just have to accept it like that.” This is how most of Cameroonian girls are expected to deal with breast ironing. Accepting it and, as Joyce did, praying God to make their breasts disappear.

Source: Inter-Press Service (IPS).
Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/2011/10/cameroon-protect-your-daughters-iron-their-breasts/.

Turkey to offer 2,000 buffaloes in aid to Cameroon

04 October 2014 Saturday

Turkey will offer 2,000 buffaloes in food aid to the poor in Cameroon through a number of Turkish non-governmental organizations, Turkish ambassador Omar Faruk Dogan said Saturday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Dogan said the aid will be distributed during the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast, which started on Saturday.

"Turkey is keen on offering food assistance to the needy on the Eid occasion," the Turkish diplomat said.

Dogan said his country strives to offer help to the distressed peoples to alleviate their suffering and accentuate solidarity with them.

He said the 2,000 buffaloes would be sent to refugee camps, prisons, disability centers and mosques that house refugees.

The ambassador noted that the Turkish food aid comes at a time when Cameroonian authorities are offering aid to the needy in the northernmost part of the country.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/145666/turkey-to-offer-2000-buffalos-in-aid-to-cameroon.