Challenging domestic violence under national and international law: judging the innumerable legal violations undermining the protection of women's constitutional rights in Cameroon

Controversially and inexplicable is an aspect that is defying and affecting our Civil Code from its French inception in matters relating to violence especially on women. It becomes confusing when some basic issues cannot be handled, and overweighing pendulum is exercised on the woman status and right within a given society. A glaring example or illustration here can be examined in the domain of marriage as to parties. The code provides in its Article 52 that the minimum age for marriage is 15 years for the girls and 18 years for the boys. We are knowing that as to the definition provided by the 1989 Convention of the Right of the Child in which Cameroon is not only a signatory but has ratified the said convention, provide in its Article 1 as follow: "any person who is below the age of 18".

This becomes contradictory as per the Civil Code which has already fixed the marriage age of women. Even though the same code provides in its Article 49 that girls under 18 are not required to marriage, parental consent is sufficient. This is not a good ground at all in the country as it has really given birth to early or forceful marriage since the law gives the parents the opportunity in pushing their children to marriage before the prescribed day of the law. The code has to follow the provision as provided by Article 1 of the Convention of the Child which is considered as the ship anchored instrument of children right in the country. The law was not foolish in established the minimum age for girls to get married at the age of 18. The law believes that children at that age are still considered as dole incalpax and lack certain faculties to under the concept of marriage (the situation of sound mind, sound memory and sound understanding is very instrumental for there to be a valid celebration of a marriage. The absent of these three elements in the celebration of a marriage will render the Marriage ceremony null and void) or contract in which she is entering into. This situation of the law has really encouraged early marriage and making it difficult to combat or put an end to these barbaric practices in the country. We find the practices recurrent and practicable in our country like in the Northern part of the country where they believe it is common to give their girl children for marriage at the tender age. The problem here even though a long practice tradition, our laws has also encouraged its practices, making it difficult for there to be its elimination and even suppression.

Even the fact that the law gives the husband the right to choose which matrimonial regimes to applicable in the marriage agreement is a serious problem. According to the Cameroon Civil Code in its Article 70 which entails that if no choice is made as to the regime of marriage, and then the couple is married under common law which allows polygamy and community of marital property. So even the law accepts encouraging polygamy, and then they want to combat violence, difficult. The situation here is that even if the husband is for the monogamous regime, it doesn't stop the husband to be polygamous as we know the general adage that; "all Africans by nature are polygamous."

The husband is and will always be considered to be the head of the family; he also has the sole right to determine the family domicile and, in the interest of the household and the children, may prevent his wife from taking employment. This situation becomes rebellious and sarcastic, as we all know how it can ridicule the woman to nothing since the husband has absolute authority over their wife by depriving them for some privileges and advantages that she may derived from, he thinks that he is the sole contributor of the family, and the wife is not in any best position to provide for the family depriving her own fundamental right as to the right to work which is established in many international human right and convention that Cameroon has signed and ratified. The code in its entirety and realities gives much power to the husband who can violate her right at any time desired. Even the fact that women are deprived to full use and enjoyment of property is a serious problem, for the husband has the right to administer communal marital property, thereby giving him the right to sell or mortgage the couple's property without his wife's consent. Article 1421 and 1428 is a good example of the Code depriving the women from using the matrimonial property. It continues by saying that only the husband has the right to sell or mortgage the matrimonial property, the wife has no right as to the property of the matrimonial home as she herself is considered as a property, and how can a property own a property. All these provisions are contradictory to our Cameroon constitutions especially in its preamble which provide for equal right to all irrespective of the status, sex, language, nationality in question. Both sexes have the right in enjoying the fundamental human right, and the right to property is not an exception.

It is really shameful in our country that there are no specific laws have been enacted to prohibit violence against women or domestic violence. There are no laws prohibiting traditional harmful practices, and female genital mutilation (FGM) and the practice of breast ironing persist in parts of the North and the South-West of the country.

Although the government report states that Cameroon's body of laws including the Constitution embodies the principle of equality between men and women, there is no legal definition of discrimination provided for by any law. The embodiment of the principle of equality in the preamble of the 1996 Constitution as amended in April 2008 is not sufficient enough to meet with the standards required by CEDAW, because discriminatory laws and practices still prevail. CEDAW is not yet incorporated into national laws. Article 45 of the Constitution states that duly approved or ratified treaties and International Agreements shall, following their promulgation, override national laws. This statement does not confer any rights or redress. Enforcement is therefore weak, since criminal sanctions have to be enacted into law before becoming applicable.

Adjusting and establishing a potential climate for a prospective protection and recognition of women rights

The problem of domestic violence is real and unavoidable with it increase proliferating the polluting the Cameroonian society. The issue here is not just looking as the female pandemic drone damage of democratic and legal society, something needs to be done in remedying this deadly plague that have affected the daily lives of womanhood so as to have a rest and pleasing future for these women undergoing violence in all domains of activities. We know that it will be difficult in eradicating and combatting this violence once and for all, but the question is what should really be done in reducing its rate of existence in the society. We believe there are certain categories of persons in the society who are supposed to be cling as they have those responsibilities in dealing with issue of domestic violence as they are implicated and involved in its increase and constant abuse.

It there becomes the responsibility of the Cameroon government to ensure the promulgation of laws for the recognition of the rights of women, and combating domestic violence should be enforcing with proper measures put in to place to ensure the better promotion and protection of women's rights. This is because most of our laws are not put in practice and the laws combating domestic violence are ineffective. So for the government to enforce and make this laws effective she has to adopt certain measures, mechanisms, and policies that will jettison discriminations against women by implementing awareness programs to segment the population, religions and traditional rulers. It is always the responsibility of the government in ensuring that its citizen's rights and wellbeing should be of prime importance to them, and this can only be done by seeing to that the various measures used in combatting domestic violence should be effective. They have enacted a series of enacted laws I their various national laws disposition, those laws are really credible and outstanding, but that is not the rationale of the law to be a beautiful pendulum, these laws must be implemented to see that violence are taking care of. And the only way this can be done is by putting into place concrete measures for implementation.

Observing at the constitution of Cameroon, many international laws and foreign laws have been ratifying and signs by Cameroon but they are not effectively implemented. This lack of implementation is really a problem that is affecting these women right and status in the society. The problem we are facing increasing the rate of domestic violence in the society, remains level of implementation, we mean effective implementation. There is so much sentiment and emotional attachment when it comes to implementation. There should not be any pity of the law when dealing with issues of domestic violence face by the victim. The law enforcement officers and the judiciary are sometimes rendering less importance to issues related to violence on women especially domestic violence, and that has become a serious pandemic in the eyes of the law making it difficult to combat at this stage. The rampant and increase nature of the violence was due to the negligence of the so called law enforcement officers. Most of them mocked at the women who suffered from this violence considering it as but serious.

The reform of the normative framework aimed at harmonizing domestic laws with international and regional legal instruments ratified by Cameroon is a beautiful scenario for the government of Cameroon. Laws on domestic violence are so dispersed and scatter, and this makes it more difficult. The several names given by the law to these crimes becomes an issue of questioning. There so many instruments on domestic violence in Cameroon, from the constitution, labor code, penal code, civil status registration ordinance, customary laws, and a host of others. It is not having all these laws that will prevent the public to be aware that they are domestic violence. I believe a harmonization of the laws that will even conform to those prescribed by international law and instruments will a laudable initiative on the part of the government. It is shameful and surprising that a state like Cameroon has no law or instrument on domestic violence, making it difficult to combat. There should really be reforms on the part of the laws on domestic violence.

The implementation of the platform for joint intervention in the fight against gender-based violence will equally be appreciated. Issue of violence cannot be realizing by a single stakeholder on domestic violence. All the stakeholders in the country dealing with domestic violence should be able in establishing or creating a platform where discussion of domestic violence will be done by proposing measures and mechanisms that will be used in combatting. We believe this will go a long way in issue related to combatting violence. The enhancement of the dissemination of the national strategy to fight against gender-based violence is great and laudable. The government also engage every ten years an action plan in achieving its goals and activities. This is a great initiative, but there is a problem of enhancement and dissemination. Howe many people in the society are aware of these action plans of the government? I believe majority of the population are not aware of this action plan. Even if they are aware, it is limited to only a given category of persons. Everybody is supposed to be active in the supposed plan of action of domestic violence as it is a common plague and pandemic affecting the society in one way or the other.

Conclusion