Cameroonian women’s Right Activist wins the First Simone Veil International Prize
Aïssa Doumara Ngatansou a Cameroonian women’s rights activist received the award of Simone Veil International Prize held in France to mark International Women’s Day.
She was recognized due to her brave efforts towards promoting women’s rights in Cameroon.
Aissa’s organization fights against women violence, women discrimination and the deprivation of women rights. She helps to create a means of helping victims and survivors of violence through intervention programs, which involves campaigns, films on gender-based violence, seminars and other information’s that promotes women’s rights.
Domara fights to ensure those victims of forced marriages and those who have been forced to flee their homes because of Boko Haram violence on Cameroon’s border with Nigeria have access to the same services and support as others.
Aissa Domara’s experience of gender discrimination has propelled her to become the activist for girls and women as she was forcibly married at the age of 16 but escaped 11 years ago to finish her studies.
Being a survivor of forced marriage, has pushed her to resolving to save the world.
The Simone Veil International Prize award will hold every year to recognize courageous individuals or organizations that are promoting women’s rights.
The ceremony is in honor of iconic women’s rights activist Simone Veil, who fought for women’s legal rights in France in the 20th century. She introduced the right to abortion into French law in 1975 and was the first female president of the European Parliament. She passed away in 2017 and has become a real icon in France for women’s rights.
Gender discrimination and gender-based abuse is a serious problem, especially in underdeveloped regions but with the right knowledge and distribution of gender-based information, more people will become aware and conscious of the problem.
Winning the Simone Veil Prize will empower Doumara’s organisation to achieve more. It will also enable them to care for displaced women and girls beyond the northern region, improving the lives of Cameroonian women and all women in Africa.
