International faith-based organizations and women’s empowerment in the Presbyterian Church in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon from 1971 to 2017

Abstract

This study examines the participation of Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) in the empowerment of women within the PCC and the wider society. It explores the extent to which empowerment initiatives of FBOs enhanced the involvement of women in the life of the church and society. The study has contextualized PCC’s ecumenical ties with these FBOs before insightfully examining two women’s empowerment programs that were funded by these FBOs and implemented by the PCC on their behalf. This involved empowerment activities in the context of the Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women launched by the WCC in 1988 and the Women’s Education and Empowerment Program that was financed by Bread for the World. Based on archival, oral and secondary data sources, which have been exploited using qualitative and quantitative methods, the study addresses the question: To what extent did Faith Based Organizations empower women for full involvement in the PCC and society? The study has revealed that gender agendas of international FBOs acted in combination with the low status of women to occasion an ecumenical partnership between the PCC and religious faith institutions aimed at enhancing the agency of women in church and society. It also found that the Ecumenical Decade that was launched by the WCC yielded more leadership opportunities for women within the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon. The study has equally found that the Women’s Education and Empowerment Program empowered women through sustainable activities in ways that ameliorated their status. Building on these findings, this study concludes that entrenched patriarchy and accompanying discriminations against women in both the PCC and society were challenged through women’s empowerment programs financed by international faith-based institutions despite the field challenges that were encountered. The study recommends that the PCC and other churches should engage with more FBOs in order to pursue the policy of empowering women.