Domestic violence in Cameroon: Alv's Story

Manifestación de la Coalición Camerunesa contra la Violencia hacia las Mujeres y las Niñas    

Esther Nyacke Ntah

Community Manager and ambassador WWO, French-speaking Africa Zone

Alv. arrived at my house on 10 March 2025. Her face was puffy, her left eye was black, and her arms were covered in bruises. She had just been beaten up by her partner again.

Once she felt confident, she confessed to me that she turned to the World Women´s Observatory (WWO) out of an impulse. Her older sister told her about the Observatory a month ago. But, at the time, it didn't seem urgent for her to come and see us. She finally decided to tell her story to the WWO, because she was starting to panic: "I think he'll end up killing me one day", she said. Report him to the police? She doesn’t want to, because our law still fails to adequately protect women who suffer violence."

Alv.'s story is very similar to those of other women who are victims of domestic violence. She has been insulted, beaten up, intimidated and even threatened with death. Alv. told us that she has been living with her partner for twenty years. Her partner convinced her to move in with him when she discovered that she was expecting his child. As the dowry ceremony for pregnant women is forbidden in most tribes in Cameroon, he promised to regularise their situation immediately after she gave birth. But this promise has proved false to this day.

Wedding cancelled on the day of the ceremony

As soon as their son was born, Alv.'s partner scheduled their wedding. Alv. was over the moon. On the day of the ceremony, she put on her beautiful white dress, did her hair and made sure that the catering service was preparing the meal. Outside, her bridesmaids had formed a hedge around the luxury car that was supposed to take her to the town hall. Just as she was about to leave the house, her fiancé stopped her and informed her that the wedding would no longer take place. The reason? His father was dying and it was not acceptable for his eldest son to celebrate. It was a harsh decision, but Alv. agreed. After the death of her father-in-law, Alv. waited in vain for her lover to reschedule their wedding. On the contrary, rumour had it among her in-laws that she had never been her father-in-law's favourite. A fact that her man never failed to throw in her face every time there was a disagreement. As time went by, Alv.'s partner shamelessly humiliated her in the presence of their son and acquaintances. One day, they had surprise guests. When she invited them to the table, her man stopped them with this serious accusation: "Don't eat that witch's food. She certainly spat in it".

Over the years, she has hoped that the violence would subside. Unfortunately, the situation got worse. Every time she left the house, when she returned, he called her a "prostitute" using degrading language while hitting her. According to what she says, she endured all this for the sake of her child. But now she can't take it any more.

After listening to Alv.'s hardships, the advice we gave her was to leave that tormentor. To encourage her, her sister has promised to give her money to move elsewhere. What we already fear is that this monster will decide to kill her if she abandons her home.

The difficulty we have with victims like "Alv." is that they refuse to give their testimony openly. Just as she didn't want us to reveal her identity, she also refused to let us use her partner's name in this article.