Perception of the International Women’s Day Celebration in Cameroon: The Case of Biyem-Assi neighborhood, Yaoundé

The International Women’s Day Celebration started as a socialist political movement, which fought for women’s right to vote and better working conditions. Over the years this movement has fought for education, health, poverty, political integration, violence, armed conflict and the aspirations of the girl child. In Cameroon presently, the perception of women about the International Women’s Day Celebrations is not fully appraised. A survey was carried out for a week in Biyem-Assi neighborhood after the International Women’s Day Celebration (IWDC). The aim of this study was to generate knowledge on a gendered perception of the International Women’s day celebration and the practices attached to it. The survey revealed that 50% of women were perceived to celebrate this day for no reason, as most of them did not know the theme for the day. Also, 88.9% of women indulged in a lot of alcohol with most drunk and other malpractices. The findings speculate that the IWDC is about to lose its political flavour if no action is taken. Women and men both accepted that there was a need for women to be educated more on the importance and relevance of the International Women’s day and its celebrations.