- Discriminatory practices Women’s and girls’ workload is heavier than men’s and boys’ as females are expected to do much of the childcare, farming, washing and cooking, including pounding large quantities of manioc every day (Photo 5) Women tend not to initiate divorce due to the implications of returning the value of the gifts offered by their husband upon marriage Women cannot hold the position of chief or head of family Women have to settle in their husband’s village.
Photo 7: Tswa girls pounding manioc in the village of Nsah
4. Intersecting inequalities including disabilities 4.1 Indigenous concept of disability In all groups, there is a specific term for disability: Eboka in Mbendjele refers to permanent physical as well as a mental affliction or disorder. Polio and leprosy, for example, are classified by the Mbendjele as disabling. The Tswa and Bongo have a different term for physical handicaps (icara) and mental handicaps (ngalari) and no overarching term that encapsulates both. 4.2 Community treatment of people with multiple vulnerabilities For persons experiencing multiple layers of vulnerability such as widows, women and children with disabilities, childless women and elderly women, it is difficult to ascertain how they are treated by members of their family or community for two reasons: Our research did not come across many concrete cases Treatment may vary according to individuals, families and/or communities With these limitations in mind, a summary of the data is presented below. In the Plateaux, we found no cases of women presenting signs of infertility or having no children. However, people stressed that such situations should not affect a woman’s relationship with her partner, all things being equal. Although we found no cases of divorced 55