Everyday Heroes: Justine Diffo (Cameroon)

She was greatly influenced by growing up in a poor family and by her mother’s involvement in politics, both of which have led her to fight for the rights of women and girls. Diffo’s parents were active in the fight for Cameroon’s colonial independence, but she never got to know her father. He was killed during a period of post-independence resistance.

Her mother, left to raise their six children on her own, continued throughout her lifetime to remain actively involved in various political parties, in particular the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), the main national clandestine party, the Union Nationale Camerounais (UNC) and the Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC). In none of these parties did she ever rise above the rank of a simple militant or president of a local section, despite her deep involvement and experience.

Opportunities for women in Cameroon’s political parties are severely limited, confining them to social roles such as facilitating meetings and social mobilization. It is this exploitation of women that fired Diffo’s indignation and motivated her to get involved in public affairs because they concern the full and active expression of women’s citizenship.

Justine Diffo received her D.E.A. (Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies) in international private law from the University of Yaoundé in 1990, and later enrolled at the Université René Descartes de Paris V. In 1998 she graduated with a Ph.D. in private law (Doctorat d’Etat en Droit International Privé). Returning to Cameroon, she became an assistant professor at the prestigious Institut des Relations Internationales du Cameroun. She was also hired by the University of Yaoundé II to teach a number of law courses: social, distressed business, procedural collectives and international private law. She also found time to supervise graduate DEA and DESS theses. Her academic and professional acumen led her to be solicited by a number of major educational institutions in Cameroon as well as internationally at the University of Burundi, where she is an associate professor in the MBA program on international law.

Her Viewpoint

Diffo defines the political participation of women in Cameroon as a parcours du combattant — an obstacle course. It’s necessary to awaken women’s political consciousness so that they get involved both as voters and as candidates. Reform of the legal texts and the exigency to enforce them is also required.

The political will of the State remains crucial to this process. Diffo hopes to help Cameroon surpass the nine million mark on the electoral list by getting 50 percent of women to demonstrate their political weight during the presidential campaign in 2011.

Reflecting on the evolution of politics of Cameroon, Diffo condemns the multi-party system as it currently operates — with more than 300 opposition parties. She sees this as a hindrance to democracy and suggests that support be given to the top five or so opposition parties, something that would make it possible to better structure the political field for a functioning democratic alternative.

Justine Diffo’s hope for Cameroon is a society that is more equitable and that is expunged of the demons of corruption and tribalism, which weaken political institutions and hinder sustainable development. She preaches by example and hopes to do in Cameroon something her mother was never able to do, namely to govern.