Re-evaluating the Legal and Institutional Complications Affecting the Protection of Women's Rights in Cameroon: The Need to Remedying the Odds

Preserving women’s rights in Cameroon faces significant legal and institutional challenges. Women's rights encompass ideals such as freedom from violence, equality, education, health, and bodily autonomy, all aimed at ensuring gender equality and empowerment. Despite modern advancements, women in Cameroon often suffer from inhumane treatment, undermining their rights and status. International legal instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Maputo Protocol, condemn these abuses. However, violations such as Female Genital Mutilation, sexual abuse, rape, and harmful widow practices remain prevalent. This situation prompts an important question: why do women's rights violations persist in a country that is legally committed to protecting women from violence? Despite numerous legal frameworks—including the Constitution, the Penal Code, the Labour Code, and the Civil Code—Cameroon lacks a specific, comprehensive law addressing violence against women. Issues such as child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation, and property discrimination continue to plague the country, highlighting the need for more effective legal and institutional measures to improve the protective environment for women and enhance their societal status.