Handicapped
The mere fact of existing is already a battle of every moment, but that of being born a woman is seen as the most arduous of battles, in a society that considers women not only less than men, but below men. The simple attributes devolved to human being are sometimes denied to them, under the indifferent eye of the society. Who is to blame for this general contemptuous attitude vis-à-vis the woman? The man? Society? Or the woman herself?
Woman parenthood, excision, rape, sexual harassment, the prison, early marriages and widowhood are core points tackled in the seven short stories of this book where the main characters ; Micheline, Amina, Jenaëlle, Ann-Lise, Lucie, Violet and Bernadette shall each take the reader through their stories using their own words. Based on true stories, these fictions are a personal move to throw more light on the stumbling blocks faced by the woman in her struggle for optimal fulfillment. Through the life stories clearly depicted in this book, most readers can picture their own lives, the lives of a mother, a sister, a friend or a daughter. Two objectives constitute the backbone of this book; draw attention on the way the woman is perceived by the African society and Cameroon in particular and raise awareness in the woman so that she can come to understand that the key to her destiny lies within herself and nowhere else. Hence the need to portray womanhood as society sees it: a handicap.
Native of Cameroon, the author is a legal expert. She is a Magistrate, graduate of NSAM (National School of Administration and Magistracy). She came out second of the 2012-2014 batch named “Justice and Professionalism”. Very committed in charitable activities for the promotion of youth and the development of young girls, she is the president of an association created to this end. Passionate about writing and reading, she has many publications in various fields. She is presently completing a PhD in Private Law at the University of Dschang in Cameroon.
