Violation of Women Rights in Cameroon: An Analysis under Statutory and Customary Law

Abstract

Both statutory and customary law are sources of law in Cameroon and it would be wrong, or perhaps out of context to settle either for the superiority of written law because for any case of to be admissible especially customary law or the customary law rules most of the cases are hardly brought to court. The protection and treatment of persons are expected by the various statutory and customary laws of the country in ensuring the protection of women's rights. Even though both laws have provided protection for all women, customary law through its various practices continues to consider women as abandoned and frustrated commodities, and this has seriously affected the status these women represent in the society. This paper articulates that when dealing with women's rights in Cameroon, the position occupied by customary law is discriminatory as they considered women as property, and a property cannot own property. The continuous unmanageable practices carried on women's rights have created devastating damages and injuries causing statutory law to frown at these inhumane practices experienced by the women in the country and address these odds of customary law.  It is therefore in this lane that we believe that women just like others when it comes to the protection of their basic rights deserve to be treated humanely as provided by the various human rights laws that Cameroon has signed and enacted, and customary law is not an exception.