From June 20 to 23, 2024, under the supervision of Dr. Ariane NGABEU, the “Gender, Societal Change and Peace (GSCP) Research Team” of the Center for Gender, Peace and Security (CGEPS) carried out a pre-research field work in the city of Dschang to document the conditions of women displaced from the Anglophone crisis that has been raging in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon since 2017, and to study the impact of digital technology on their reintegration into society. This field work served as the foundation for an upcoming research project on the subject.

In 2023, the world will have around 115 million people displaced by war, more than half of them on the African continent. These are people forced to leave their homes to settle in other regions or towns deemed safer and more secure within the country. Among these internally displaced people, women and children make up the bulk.

These displacements are not without consequences for the host regions and towns. In addition to the discomfort of the displaced, there are development difficulties for the host towns, which are often unprepared to receive such a large influx of people materially and psychologically destitute as a result of the war. The difficulties are even greater for towns and for the displaced when we consider that the latter often find shelter in towns for a long time, an average of ten to fifteen years. It is therefore becoming important and urgent for host cities to give priority to integrating these people into the existing urban fabric. This must be done in a gender-sensitive way, responding to the needs of both the people and the places affected by forced displacement.

With the advent of digital technology, young people are using platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter to stay connected with friends and family, exchange ideas and access news. The technology sector is creating new job opportunities. Many young entrepreneurs are exploiting digital technologies to launch startups, develop applications and offer online services. What is the place of displaced women in this movement? What is the impact of digital technology on them?

This field work carried out in the city of Dschang from June 20 to 23, 2024 by the Gender, Societal Change and Peace (GMSP) research team was thus able to carry out a territorial framing of the study area. It carried out a census of neighborhoods and hostels for people, especially women, internally displaced by the Anglophone Crisis, the armed conflict raging in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon, notably the North-West and South-West regions. The team also identified a number of war-displaced women interested in digital technology, who could be potential partners in the project as informers.

Completed on June 23, 2024, the field work was a success. The CGEPS team now has an idea of the scope and outline of the tasks ahead. As a result, it can now finalize the research project on the theme: “The impact of digital technology on war-displaced women in urban areas: the case of the city of Dschang in Cameroon”.

Ariane NGABEU, PhD
Howard University
Washington, USA

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