My name is Esther Ebot Takow, and I am a communications specialist as well as a climate advocate and a dedicated feminist who stands for the empowerment of women and young people across Cameroon. I have witnessed firsthand the pain and suffering caused by the Anglophone crisis that has torn families apart for more than ten years now in the Northwest and Southwest regions where women and girls continue to carry the heaviest burdens of violence, loss and forced displacement. I believe deeply that we as a people can do much better and that we must commit ourselves fully to protecting the dignity and rights of every woman and girl.

The Maputo Protocol brings forward clear and important promises designed to uplift and safeguard African women in all aspects of life.

In Cameroon today, the difference between these promises on paper and the harsh daily realities that women face feels painfully wide and continues to cause deep concern. Women living in the Anglophone regions have endured horrors that no woman anywhere should ever have to experience and these events stand in direct opposition to the protections outlined so clearly in the Maputo Protocol.

Consider for a moment the stories of entire families burned alive inside their own homes in Mamfe where houses were deliberately set on fire with women and children trapped inside. In other terrible incidents, a young woman lost her life in a brutal beheading simply because she was known to be the girlfriend of a soldier. Pregnant women have also fallen victim to gunfire such as the tragic case reported from Bamenda where a pregnant mother was shot and killed along with several others after being wrongly identified as connected to fighters which robbed these women of their most basic human right to life and security in ways that clearly violate the principles of Article 4. The challenges only grow deeper once families are forced to leave their homes and become displaced. Many end up hiding in forests or moving to unfamiliar areas where women and girls struggle without access to clean water, proper hygiene facilities, or even basic menstrual products. In more recent developments, many Anglophone families who managed to settle in Yaoundé after fleeing the fighting now face uncertainty and pain because in July 2026, the city council issued short notices giving them only a few days to vacate their long-term homes in settlements in Mvogbetsi where they had lived since around 2017.

Sexual violence has become pervasive and has also contributed to a worrying national rise in cases of child rape throughout the crisis with both government soldiers and separatist fighters committing acts of rape and assault against women and girls. Organizations like Amnesty International have carefully documented cases in which women were held for many days and subjected to repeated assaults in military camps. And femicides continue to increase at an alarming rate and the majority of these deaths are carried out by partners or people known to the victims.

I personally carry the weight of all these stories as I have been held at gunpoint. My mother had to flee her home to Bertoua with my siblings to ensure their education did not get disrupted and my whole family was forced to vacate their home. It is more heartbreaking that 10 years later, we still can’t go back. The very authorities meant to protect us are the ones making life unbearable.

But I have hope. I use my social media to speak on the crisis, on the rights of women, and I continue to be hopeful because many brave women have stepped forward as peacebuilders who care for families in camps, and work tirelessly to create better futures for the next generation while community groups provide essential items like sanitary products, counselling sessions, and training programs that help women regain strength and independence.

To every woman who reads these words and who has lost her home, her loved ones or her sense of safety, I want you to know with all my heart that you are not disposable in any way because you are valuable, you are strong and your life holds beautiful purpose. Our collective dreams for a peaceful tomorrow truly matter and together, we will continue to raise our voices in unity with courage, compassion, and shared determination so that we can build the Cameroon we deserve where every woman and girl lives each day with full dignity, safety, and genuine hope for the future.

Let us transform our collective pain into lasting power and allow the guiding light of the Maputo Protocol to show us the path forward as we walk together hand in hand with love and unwavering commitment toward a brighter day for all our daughters, sisters and mothers.