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The Civility of Incivility: Grassroots Political Activism, Female Farmers, and the Cameroon State

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Susan Diduk
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Abstract:

This essay examines the cultural symbolism underpinning “Takembeng,” a contemporary, rural-based social movement of female farmers in the Northwest Province of Cameroon. It argues that the power and success of women's activism, in the context of national opposition party politics and the “new struggles” for democracy, are embedded in an institutional history and culturally legitimate etiquette of moral censure. It also suggests that the highly disruptive but mystically charged nature of these mobilizations makes them effective because they open spaces for popular dissent on the national stage. Understanding the “civility” associated with the apparent incivility of activists is indispensable to understanding the dynamism of grassroots political activism.

Résumé:

Résumé:

Cette dissertation examine le symbolisme culturel servant de fondation au Takembeng, un mouvement de société contemporain, principalement rural dans lequel sont engagées des femmes du monde paysan de la province du nord-ouest du Cameroun. On y discute le fait que le pouvoir et le succès de l'activisme féminin, dans le contexte de la politique du parti d'opposition national et les « nouveaux obstacles » auxquels est confrontée la démocratie, font partie intégrante de l'histoire constitutionnelle et de l'étiquette de censure morale légitimée par la culture. L'article suggère aussi que la nature extrêmement dérangeante, mais lourde en mysticisme de ces mouvements les rend efficace car ils permettent d'ouvrir la porte pour la dissension populaire à l'échelle nationale. Il est indispensable de comprendre le « civisme » associé à l'incivisme apparent des activistes si l'on veut comprendre la dynamique de l'activisme politique populaire.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , September 2004 , pp. 27 - 54
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2004

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