Charlotte Ekotto, Cameroun

Photo by Andrea Lynch

"I'm a single mother with two children, I'm a devout Christian, and I'm a feminist. People tell me I can't be all of those things at once, but I insist on being all of them, because I am! This is why I have problems with the state's and the church's definition of the family. At church, when we're praying, we pray for the head of the church, for the head of the state, for the country, for the sick, for the family—but not a word for single mothers. And this is sad for me, because we, the single mothers, are the ones who are most in need of support. I'm responsible for my family too. I have children, I work, I feed them, I participate fully in social and political life, I pay my taxes and educate my children. We're a family too, and I'm a Christian, even without a father."

About Charlotte

Charlotte Ekotto is co-founder and current president of ALVF, the Association for the Struggle Against Violence Against Women (Association de la lutte contre les violences faites aux femmes), a leading Camerounian advocacy organization for women's rights. Born in Douala, Charlotte received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Toulouse in France. She returned to Cameroun in 1989 and joined the Women's Collective for Renewal (Collectif des Femmes pour le Renouveau), the first feminist association in Cameroun. In 1991, she and five fellow activists co-founded ALVF to draw attention to persistent patterns of violence against women in Cameroun, and to advocate for policies that addressed Camerounian women's health needs and human rights. Since 1991, ALVF has grown from a single office in the city of Yaoundé to a national advocacy and service organization that manages Centers for Women in three different regions of the country, including the predominately Muslim extreme north. Charlotte originally served as the organization's Treasurer. In addition to her role at ALVF, Charlotte also holds the position of Secretary-General at the École Normale Superieure de Yaoundé, and teaches in the French department of the same institution. She lives in Yaoundé with her daughter and son.

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