"I am a young woman who works in the city of Douala […] I have just been assaulted by a man carrying a firearm at the Bonadoumahome crossroads in Bonapriso. His name was HERVÉ BOPDA…”
This anonymous disclosure was posted on a Facebook page run by the whistleblower and activist Nzui Manto. It marked the beginning of a wave of denouncements against prominent Cameroonian businessman Hervé Bopda, who was arrested late Tuesday night.
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The accusations made paint a potentially disturbing picture of a sexual predator shielded by wealth and power, and unveil a web of alleged prostitution involving businessmen, influential personalities, and even members of law enforcement and the military. Bopda has denied the allegations.
The #StopBopda movement has since gained unprecedented traction on social media, with the hashtag already being used over 100,000 times. Numerous high-profile Cameroonian cultural figures, including activists, writers and artists, have taken to X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook to express their outrage.
A group of 22 women have addressed an open letter to Cameroon’s Attorney General and other public officials, expressing their anger at the government’s silence surrounding violence against women. They urge the Cameroonian government to take a stand in favor of the victims, ensure their protection, improve communication with citizens, and address the shortcomings in the justice system that allow powerful men such as Bopda to purportedly behave with impunity.
The public outcry in Cameroon comes as other countries in Africa begin to grapple with the question of violence against women. It come just days after Kenyan women took to the streets under the #EndFemicideKE to demand justice for victims of femicide following a surge in gender-based killing.
Pervasive problem
These cases reveal the brutal reality of not only pervasive violence against women in Africa, but also the lack of response from governments. Statistics from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey reveal that more than 40% of women have experienced violence at the hands of an intimate partner. In Cameroon, according to UNDP, 56% of women have suffered emotional and/or sexual violence and more than 40% of married women have experienced spousal violence.
The revelations from Cameroon highlight not only the scale of the violence, but also the systemic failings in the treatment and prevention of these atrocities.
Six years since the #MeToo movement began in the United States in response to accusations of sexual assault and harassment by film producer Harvey Weinstein, women from Britain and France to India and Iran have been emboldened to speak out. In the U.S. alone, 19 states have enacted new sexual harassment protections for victims and more than 200 bills have been introduced in state legislatures to deter harassment.
Fear of backlash
Yet in Africa, the movement — while not totally absent — has been much slower to take off. Women's rights campaigners say fear of backlash is one of the main reasons why the #MeToo movement has remained largely in the background in African nations.
Women are still shamed for speaking about sexual violence.
"We witnessed #MeToo in pockets across Africa - especially with university students in some countries speaking out about being forced to have sex with lecturers," Agnes Odhiambo, a women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters. "But it has been slower to take off in Africa. Women are still shamed for speaking about sexual violence. The retaliation they face can be brutal and their character is assassinated - and yet there is little support available to them."
Even though some countries have strengthened their legal response to sexual violence – in Senegal, rape has been criminalized since 2019, and in Guinea, sentences have been increased – impunity persists.
"Senegalese law still requires the victim to prove that she did not consent," Ndèye Khaira Thiam, a clinical psychologist and criminologist, told Le Monde. "Nor does she benefit from legal aid, unlike the alleged perpetrator."
Resilience and solidarity
But campaigners believe recent events may help spur on the #MeToo movement in Africa. Beninese activist Chanceline Mevowanou told Le Monde, "Of course #MeToo resonated with us. The fact that girls are becoming aware of the oppression they suffer is the result of access to mass education. It's a victory that we owe to our elders."
Gender equality activist, Jenifer Elandou, wrote on LinkedIn that “In the face of such atrocities, there is an urgent call for a Women's Spring in Africa: a collective uprising against gender-based violence and systemic injustice.”
“African women are mobilizing for change,” she said. “They are demanding accountability, justice for victims and systemic reforms to tackle the root causes of violence against women. The resilience and solidarity shown by Kenyans and Cameroonians is a beacon of hope, signaling a paradigm shift in societal attitudes towards gender equality and women's rights.”