Cameroon: Ange Kayifa, the art of saying no to violence against women
Ange Kayifa sees art as therapy.
© Sebastien Manigaud
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
How to address violence against women through art?
Ange Kayifa, 25, delivers punchy works, in museums, galleries or on social networks.
The Cameroonian artist is one of the winners of the “Trames” program which allows French-speaking artists to benefit from a residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris.
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For Ange Kayifa, art is therapy.
Violence, she experienced it in her flesh, victim, a few years ago, of the actions of her companion: "
There are many cultures or tribes, in particular or Cameroon, where they tell you that if a man does not don't hit you, he doesn't love you.
".
The police and victim support associations have not been of much help to Ange Kayifa: “
Society is so rotten and patriarchal that these same people who are supposed to protect us are in fact rooted in this violence
.
»
For Ange Kayifa, who exhibits in Brazzaville, Canton, or Marseille, artists can change things.
Her first performance was called “Marionnette”: “
Marionnette is a woman who finds herself in a cage, who is connected to wires that come out of this cage.
During the performance, there are people in the audience who pull on these ropes.
»
Ange Kayifa is currently interested in butoh, a Japanese dance described as "dance of the dark".
The Cameroonian artist remains convinced that beauty can spring from darkness.
In Cameroon, one in two women is a victim of violence
Laws to protect and defend women exist, but they are not applied, explains Aissa Doumara.
She is president of the Association for the fight against violence against women: an association that offers medical, legal and social support to battered or abused women and girls.
“About 52% of Cameroonian women experience violence.
There are many organizations working alongside the state to end this scourge.
If we manage to enforce the laws of our country, which are very good, we have the hope that things will calm down.
Laws cannot run on their own, efforts must be made at the level of those who say the law, at the level of politicians as well, but also at the level of traditional religious authorities, men and boys as well as women and girls too.
This patriarchal ideology must also be able to put an end to the harmful cultural practices which strongly contribute to the violence being perpetuated and persisting despite the fact that there are laws.
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Cameroon
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Womens rights