ABSTRACT
Gender equity provides equal opportunities for individuals of all sexes to participate in socio-economic activities in the society, especially letting each sex to put their intrinsic qualities at the service of the community. Among the Kom of North West Cameroon, sociocultural practices have seriously limited women’s participation in the community, a factor that has led to social tensions as well as reducing the socio-economic growth of the community. The Film for Development (FfD) approach first brings together disadvantaged people to reflect on their predicaments and brainstorm on solutions, resulting in story creation and the making of a participatory film that sensitises the public on their problems. This study used the FfD approach to promote gender equity in the Kom society to foster sustainable development. The study answers the following questions: Which sociocultural practices in Kom society exclude women? What are the effects of exclusion on the socio-economic output of women in the community? What are women’s views on how to foster their inclusion in the Kom society? Using participant observations, focus group discussions and key informant interviews, this study revealed two categories of practices that exclude women. The first includes those endorsed by the traditional leaders (institutional practices), such as lack of access to political positions, widows expected to marry late husband’s brother and exclusion from land inheritance; while the second includes those actively fought against by the traditional leaders, such as high bride prices, forced marriages, dispossession of widows and discrimination of the girl child in education. Suggestions from respondents on how to empower women in Kom were further woven into a community film through participatory dramaturgy.
