The refugee men fighting for gender equality

Nigerian refugees living in Minawao Camp in Cameroon use drama to educate men about the ills of gender-based violence

Mohammed Boukar (in brown) talks about his role in the Husband School. Photo: WFP/Glory NDAKA

Written by Glory Ndaka

It’s mid-day in the Minawao refugee camp in the Far North region of Cameroon. A group of men and women are presenting a sketch on violence against women and its impact on the general nutritional health of families. 62-year-old Mohammed Boukar is one of the spectators and also one of the men behind the sketch. He is part of a group of eleven people who worked to produce the sketch that details incidents of gender-based violence people experience on a daily basis in the refugee camp. They belong to what is called the “Husbands’ School” or “École des mariés”.

John Diawara (left), James Haba (middle) and Boukar Mudo (right), regularly sensitise people in their sector of the camp since they joined the husband school 5 months ago. Photo: WFP/Glory Ndaka

“It is very common to find husbands beating their wives because of food,’’ says Mohammed. He explains that domestic violence in the camps commonly occurs when husbands try to sell their families’ monthly food ration or attempt to eat their undernourished infants’ fortified nutrition cereals and their wives protest.

“The women who stand up are targeted. This is not fair and that is why we, as part of the Husband Schools, want things to change,” adds the determined Mohammed.

The Husbands’ School is an initiative of the International Medical Corps (IMC), that partners with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver nutrition activities in the Minawao refugee camp. WFP supports the initiative through funding from USAID.

A scene from the sketch: a husband school member talks against men using violence towards his wife. Photo: WFP/Glory Ndaka

The concept originated from attempts to empower men to participate more in nutrition sensitization activities. With time, the schools have evolved and have become more active in talking on issues concerning girl education, gender equality, and gender-based violence.

As part of the 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence, the members of the different Husbands’ Schools toured the refugee camp and staged educative plays and skits. They discussed equality and respect within the family, a topic that hits close to home for John Diawara, a father of 10 and a Husband School member from another sector of the camp.

John Diawara has used what he learned from the platform to educate his sons on violence against women. Photo: WFP/Glory Ndaka

“Just yesterday, I witnessed my own son being violent with his wife. I was ashamed of his actions because I spend a lot of my time talking to other families not to use violence with women,” says 60-year-old John. “I joined my husbands’ school because I wanted to help in my own little way. I want to encourage other men in my community to help out their wives in nutrition and household-related matters and to also respect them. This is what I told my son, and I will continue to do so to ensure that what I witnessed will never happen again.”

A scene from the sketch: A husband threatens his wife who refused to let him eat his infants fortified super cereal. Photo: WFP/glory Ndaka

The Minawao camp in Cameroon is home to over 60,000 Nigerian refugees. The camp is divided into four sectors and each one has a Husbands’ School made up of 12 members. The members meet every month under the supervision of a coach, to identify pressing problems linked to nutrition, and to propose simple solutions they can implement at the level of their communities. The Husbands’ Schools have become a reliable tool to foster equality within the families of the members themselves and communities in the refugee camp.

For more information about WFP’s operations in Cameroon.