Tekumbeng
The highest executive seat in the village is occupied by the Fon and the Fon is assisted by the ‘Mafor’- the Queen mother. The position of Mafor is hereditary and can be held by the Fon’s mother or a princess. The Mafor presides over the Tekumbeng; the Tekumbeng is a women only traditional group considered a women secret society group.
Membership into the Tekumbeng is not by inheritance but by age and sex. It is open to all post menopausal women of the village and one of its major role is the check power excesses. They usually present their petition or grievances not in a general assembly of men and women but in protest form in public spaces.
The current Chairperson of the Tekumbeng Council is Barrister Gladys Mbuya. She is Barrister –At –Law, a Human Rights advocate and a peace advocate. She splits her professional time between lawyering and fighting for the promotion and defense of Women rights and the rights of vulnerable persons. She is a public interest lawyer and in that capacity had filed a case before the Supreme Court of Cameroon for the law on marriage age to be repealed and brought to standards with international conventions ratified. She is the national president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Cameroon), a FIDA International Director and current Vice secretary of the Cameroon Bar Association. She is a Committee member of the Africa End Sexual Harassment Initiative (AESHI).
Membership into the Tekumbeng is not by inheritance but by age and sex. It is open to all post menopausal women of the village and one of its major role is the check power excesses. They usually present their petition or grievances not in a general assembly of men and women but in protest form in public spaces.
The current Chairperson of the Tekumbeng Council is Barrister Gladys Mbuya. She is Barrister –At –Law, a Human Rights advocate and a peace advocate. She splits her professional time between lawyering and fighting for the promotion and defense of Women rights and the rights of vulnerable persons. She is a public interest lawyer and in that capacity had filed a case before the Supreme Court of Cameroon for the law on marriage age to be repealed and brought to standards with international conventions ratified. She is the national president of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Cameroon), a FIDA International Director and current Vice secretary of the Cameroon Bar Association. She is a Committee member of the Africa End Sexual Harassment Initiative (AESHI).
