An Interview with Adeline Sede Kamga on Women’s Rights in Africa

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2020/08/01

Abstract

Adeline Sede Kamga is the Founder/CEO of FabAfriq Media Group, a Creative and Innovative Marketing and communication agency with offices in the UK and Cameroon operating both in Europe and Africa. A change leader and inspirational speaker with over fifteen years of experience. She has expertise working across different areas in the corporate, business and community world. She is committed to delivering quality projects in Corporate PR and Communications, Change management, Executive Coaching. She has a BA in Corporate Communications, MA in Human Resource Management at Coventry University UK and professional qualifications such as CIPD, PRINCE2 & Dip in Business Administration. Adeline is an expert in Corporate communications and PR, including digital communication and eventing. As a trained executive coach, she has worked with blue chip companies from varied sectors, helping them gain visibility across Africa and the rest of the world. Her previous experience in HR, gave her hands-on experience working in different HR projects with one of the largest employers in Europe (Birmingham City Council) & subsequently as a consultant. Amongst some of her expertise are change management, People Management, T & D and Strategic HR. She has led on many strategic and restructuring projects, leading to successful change management system & implementations. Adeline is also a founding member of FEPPSAC (Women editors of Central Africa), a UN Central Africa Office initiative to work with women in the print magazine industry. This group seeks to help drive the United Nations mandate of women, peace and security in Central Africa. She is dynamic, innovative, and tenacious. Gifted with a sharp mind and innate ability to connect with others and an insatiable thirst for excellence. In 2016, Adeline launched a Pan Excellence In People Management initiative for change called The Corporate Awards & The Corporate Women in Leadership program. Adeline invests in inspiring and empowering young leaders through speaking engagements and mentoring programs. She is married to a very supportive husband and has 3 kids. adeline.sede@fabafriq.com. She discusses: the common problems of women around the world; specifically African-based women’s issues now; the 2010s; the 2020s; the various companies and collaborators; the LGBTI community; religion; increase the good and decrease the bad manifestations of religious faith when it comes to the inculcation of more fair, just, and equitable societies for all; the next big projects; recently relaunched publishing efforts; and authors, books, or organizations.

Keywords: Adeline Sede Kamga, Africa, FabAfriq, women’s rights.

An Interview with Adeline Sede Kamga on Women’s Rights in Africa: CEO, FabAfriq Media Group[1]^,[2]

*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citation style listing after the interview.*

1. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Obviously, standing as an outstanding woman in different countries will have different levels of difficulty in the ways in which there are problems for the respective women, while, at the same time, we will see some commonalities. What do you see as the common problems of women around the world?

Adeline Sede Kamga: Gender inequality has been a major concern for women around the world. The lack of women in positions of decision making clearly shows that more women need to be given the opportunity to influence policies. It has been a historic movement for women since Beijing as it is no longer uncommon for women to run businesses or hold job titles in the upper ranks of management. Many women also do jobs that are traditionally male dominated. For all the progress that has been made, we still see some common problems women face even though more subtle than before, but still make appearances in all parts of society, from education and the workforce to the media and politics.

Access to education and healthcare is at the top of my list, purely because these two are the base. Once we are educated and in good health, we can do anything we truly set our minds to. The right to have logistical protection over violence, rape, abuse – the list is endless. We can easily eradicate some societal issues faced by women if we are educated and empowered to make decisions that affect us directly.  Just to add to the list, I will say women face gender-based violence, abuse, gender pay gaps and restrictive reproductive rights. Moreover, there is still gender equality, female genital mutilation, economic & financial empowerment, the power of the women’s vote & lack of opportunities to influence policies concerning them directly.

2. Jacobsen: What do you see as some of the more specifically African-based women’s issues now?

Kamga: Africa has an overly complex social, economic, and political patterns, with a clear difference between the rich and the poor. There are issues related to deep-rooted poverty, harmful traditional practices, restrictive laws, and social attitudes which continue to affect African women. Of Course, we can state that most women feel there is a lack of respect, promotion, protection, and fulfilment of human rights when it comes to women. Please note that my list is not exhaustive, you can comfortably add these to the ones listed on the global issues affecting women around the world.

3. Jacobsen: When you reflect on the 2010s, what were the most significant areas of improvement and decline for African women?

Kamga: In December 2008, a proposal for an Africa Women’s Decade (2010- 2020) was initiated by the African Union (AU) Ministers for Gender and Women Affairs at their meeting held in Maseru, Lesotho. The idea was adopted in February 2009 by the AU at the 12th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This was adopted and took a fast pace to implementation.

According to the African Women Decade report published by Make Every Woman Count, the UN, World Economic Forum, and other organisations have recorded an improvement in standards. There has been some improvement in Education with Seychelles, Swaziland, and Ethiopian topping the chart with more than 90% of achieving their Decade’s goals. While Cameroon, Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa and others have seen an increase in Economic Empowerment. There has not been a recorded decline that I can talk about, but I guess we should stick on the positives

4. Jacobsen: Looking ahead to the 2020s, what will be the most significant issues facing women?

Kamga: Owning their space! Women give excuses more than men. A few % of women own their success and talk about it. This is a big issue as far as I am concerned because it does not foster an environment where younger women can learn from. Role modelling is very important, and I feel we are not doing enough. Also, if most of the issues mentioned above are not addressed correctly, then we will be pointing out the same issues. However, there has been a rise in the number of platforms encouraging women to take control of their socio-economic stand in the community and we are counting on such.

5. Jacobsen: How are the various companies and collaborators for you working on these specific issues now?

Kamga:  We launched the corporate women in Leadership initiative to help corporates deal with such issues affecting women at work. Most of our clients have collaborated beyond measures and we are quite pleased to see more corporations joining their voices to these. Prudential Beneficial Insurance Cameroon for example, has assigned some of its female staff to speak on our panel and mentor younger women towards achieving their goals. Others have even initiated internal associations such as Ecobank Cameroon which created an association of Ecobank Women to help support each other. We also partnered with the UN to use our platform to drive Peace and security in the community and this theme is very popular during our events. So far, I think both corporate and the public sectors are working alongside to create a much more conducive environment for women. However, I think women in politics are not encouraged enough and they should work towards this as well.

6. Jacobsen: What about the LGBTI community, as stipulated by the UN LGBTI Core Group? The L, B, T, and I community of women who are having a difficult time in Africa. What is being done to help these minority sub-demographics deal with their specific issues?

Kamga: Unfortunately, LGBTI is not an area of discussion in most African countries. While South Africa, St Helene and a few others have given this a legal status most African countries are still to come to terms about sexual orientation.

7. Jacobsen: Religion is important to many Africans. How is religion a force for good at times in Africa? How is religion a force for bad at times in Africa?

Kamga: With regards to good or bad, religion is individualistic. Meaning everyone has a right to their opinion and just like in the western world, no one forces, or obliges anyone to be religious. However, we can all confirm the importance of religion because it creates a safer and much calmer environment with regards to how people behave or act during certain circumstances. It is in line with this that I can state that religion is a force when a community needs to come together to achieve a certain level of peace, security, goodwill and more. The church is most often seen as a sanctuary, where people take their personal challenges to be resolved and this has a world for many.

For bad, religion has become a huge business opportunity for most. The rate of unemployment in Africa is high, so anyone who is eloquent and fluent with words can set up a church purely to extort. There are many men of God who have amassed wealth from the community. Most people have been blindfolded that separating the good from the bad is hard. Most recently, a young lady was raped and killed in a church in Nigeria This also might mean some churches are involved in occult or bad practices.

But then again Scott, as mentioned, I can only give my opinion with regards to what I believe, not what is fact! What might be good to me, might be bad to the other and vice versa.

8. Jacobsen: How can we increase the good and decrease the bad manifestations of religious faith when it comes to the inculcation of more fair, just, and equitable societies for all?

Unfortunately, religion is a very sensitive topic in Africa and most Africans believe that salvation is personal. When we talk of GOOD here, I am looking at what is good for me. With regards to what is good for the other I can truly not give much of an opinion. In order to have a better society, we should establish what is good and what is bad. There is so much going on now that we feel we are not in control of our lives anymore.

However, there are chapters in the bible that explain what is required from everyone to live Good. With regards to bad manifestations, I would like to focus on practices. We should focus on the scriptures to increase the good. We should look at implications on others before we react, we should wear people’s shoes to see where they pinch. By putting ourselves in the other’s position, we can easily determine what to do and what not to do. So, it is advisable for people to time and understand the bible.

The government should also put in place rules and regulations around some religious practices. Of Course, they should have clear facts, evidence, and standards.

There are some religious practices that incite hate and discrimination. First of all, there are a lot of churches in Africa and this influences the religious orientation of others. People should be educated on how to be in control of what affects their lives. Awareness of fake practices should be raised, and perpetrators should be punished by law.

9. Jacobsen: What are the next big projects for you?

Kamga: Our next big project is our 10th anniversary celebration. We have had to put it on hold because of COVID but we’ll pick up for next year. We are also working on our blueprint which will contain research gathered from our 5 years of running The Corporate Awards: Celebrating Excellence in People Management. Report will focus on our findings and recommendations will be provided at the end.

10. Jacobsen: What have been some of the recently relaunched publishing efforts by you?

Kamga: We recently relaunched FabAfriq Magazine. We are also in the process of launching our Web App for news items. We are exhausted but truly looking forward.

11. Jacobsen: Any recommendations authors, books, or organizations for the audience here today?

Kamga: Yes, I would like to recommend a remarkably interesting book on Leadership and Religion. This is written by a priest and it might be interesting to interview him. Our readers should definitely check out https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philosophy-History-Challenge-African-Thinker/dp/6202304200 and thank me later.

12. Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Adeline.

Kamga: The pleasure is all mine.

Appendix I: Footnotes

[1] CEO, FabAfriq Media Group.

[2] Individual Publication Date: August 1, 2020: http://www.in-sightjournal.com/kamga; Full Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2020: https://in-sightjournal.com/insight-issues/.

License

In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.

Copyright

© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012-Present. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. All interviewees and authors co-copyright their material and may disseminate for their independent purposes.