Fete des Femmes ~ Women’s Week

Whether you are aware or not, March 8th is International Women’s Day. I for one did not even know of the existence of Women’s Day until moving here to Cameroon where it is one of the biggest national holidays. Here in Manjo, we kicked off the festivities March 1st with a women’s walk. Somehow, even though I have never participated in a women’s week in my life, I was named to the organization committee for the planning of the week’s festivities. I was President of the sports committee and on the board of a group who discussed and debated the evolution in women’s equality here in Cameroon and throughout the world. I honestly had no clue where to begin in organizing the fete, and would often get discouraged from all the responsibility given to me with my lack of understanding. But, as the week has come to an end I can say all of the frustrations and moments of feeling discouraged that things weren’t working out as I had imagined where erased by all of the great memories created everyday over the past week.
As for the events that took place during the week: we started the week with a walk through town singing the women’s days hymns, the other sports activities included a handball tournament, a soccer tournament and a second walk where we climbed one of the hills outside of village calling it “The Ascension de Manjo” after the famous race here in Cameroon called “The Ascension de Mt. Cameroon.” We chose two mornings where women would meet in specific areas to clean-up the village, we created two sessions where women would teach each other small income generating projects by making and selling lotions and soaps, women’s rights/empowerment discussion, “Soirée culturel” (glorified village talent show, as I think of it), carnival(where we dressed up in costume and danced around town for money(yes, me included I had a crown of plantain leaves and my face painted black w/charcoal and danced through town to help earn money to pay for the fete), an exposition of local art work, and finally the culmination of all the events the défilé which is similar to a parade.

My women’s sports club marched in the défilé together carrying a plaque that they created reading Club de Sport Ashley de Manjo (Ashley’s sports club, Manjo). I wish I had a video of the defile, because it cannot fully be described without seeing. Women line up with the groups that they are a part of in town and then march together in military fashion all wearing the same dress made of the same women’s day fabric(though my group broke the norm andwore our sports clothes), they march in front of the “place des fetes” where all of the town dignitaries(village chiefs and government officials) sit and watch. Some groups stop in front of the place des fetes and may do a short song or dance that has significance to their group. My club de sport decided that we needed to do an exhibition of ab exercises during the middle of our march. The march was serious business and quite formal to everyone else around me, I personally couldn’t help but crack up as I, in unison with my club, flaunted our expertise in ab exercises to the village chiefs and government dignitaries. I guess that is one way to celebrate women’s empowerment!