The gendered dimensions of urban survival : street vending among internally displaced women in Yaoundé, Cameroon

The rising conflicts and limited social security all over, are pushing many families to re-organize themselves in other to acquire and manage their resources. This paper seeks to show how families escaping from the threats of the separatist fighters in the two English speaking parts of Cameroon try to organize themselves in order to gather resources for their well-being in Yaoundé. During crisis, there are tremendous movements of people from one setting to the other; these movements create new realities in families, social settings and professional engagements. These displaced persons who usually arrive in waves bring about changes in some aspect in the society. This is seen in the way marriages, births, and deaths are organized as well as economic activities and health related issues. These changes also create distortion in the way financial, human and natural resources are managed in the community. The determination to cope and make the best out of their lives, usually push them to come out with different livelihood activities. These activities, whether skilled or unskilled enable them to gain financial autonomy and take care of their families. Since men who are usually the breadwinners in their families are directly concern with the fighting on the battle field, they sometimes get killed or are captured while the rest of the family displaces. In this new setting, the woman has to assume the role of the head of household, where she takes care of everyone under her roof. This work will make use of the theory of social change with focus on revolutionary social change by Karl Marx.