| Abstract
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The purpose of the study is to investigate the historical and cultural constraints and current policies that have shaped the growth of western-style education for women in Cameroon and, in particular, the South West Province (SWP). This study focuses on women's education in the SWP of Cameroon. It is retrospective in design and includes qualitative feminist research methodology through interviews. Voices of women participants reported their educational experiences in the South West Province of Cameroon. The present study looks at African women's educational experience through Cameroon because it is the only country in Africa to have been colonized by three major European powers, namely, Germany, France, and Britain. The country was also influenced by two major world religions—Christianity and Islam; however, Christianity is the dominant religion in the SWP. As a result, Cameroon's educational system, especially for women in the SWP, represented then and demonstrates now the influence of traditions of foreign lands. For example, prior to the colonization of Cameroon, education was traditional for boys and girls, taking on prescribed gender roles. During the colonial period from 1914 to 1959, when the country was divided into British (20%) and French (80%) Cameroon, the system of education was designed to fulfill the goals of the colonial powers. When the nation became independent and split—in 1960 for the French and in 1961 for the British—the Cameroon government introduced a new framework of historical, cultural, and economic paradigms fundamental to educational opportunities and national development efforts. Periods of governmental control are therefore pertinent to the present study. Three major time periods—pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial—comprise the focus of the analysis of this study. Politics, economics, religion, culture, and traditions of those periods influenced the education system for women in British Cameroon, and in particular, the South West Province (SWP). This retrospective examination from the literature and reports from the women of Cameroon provide a framework for looking towards the future.
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