Cultivating the fields and plaiting mats. The changes in the situation of women in a Bamileke chiefdom, Cameroon
Dieckmann, N.; Joldersma, H.
Publication, Department of Home Economics, Agricultural University, Wageningen 9: 173
1982
Document Number: 377408
In 1979 an explorative study was carried out to investigate the changes in the situation of women as a consequence of the process of incorporation in the Bamileke chiefdom Tsa in Western Cameroon. The main focus is on the changes in the activities of women and their position in the social network. The most important aspects of the process of incorporation are the incorporation into the national and international market systems (introduction of the cash crop coffee and the commercialization of foodcrops), the incorporation into governmental institutions, and the diminishing importance of traditions and the traditional power structure. The main changes this process brought about are a raised standard of living, an increased need for money to meet this standard and decreasing possibilities of fulfilling the needs of the household with the traditional mode of production. These changes affect the women's situation. Women's traditional activities have to be enlarged to meet the increasing needs of the household. In performing her task a woman is confronted with serious problems (among others: a shortage of land, infertile land) that hinder the accomplishing of her task. The difficulties encountered in meeting the standards of the household lead to a restriction of the material exchanges with an extended group of related persons, resulting in a growing individualization of the household. Some factors are hypothesized that may cause different reactions by women to the changing scene.