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I turned to Buddhism because of its humanism
and the fact that it gives all women the ability to attain enlightenment
just the same as men.
In one of Nichiren's letters that particularly resonates with me, he says
there is no difference between priests and lay people
men and women, that they can all attain enlightenment.
To me this Buddhism is revolutionary because it puts men and women on an absolutely equal footing.
I could even say that it is women who have the advantage over men.
I say this because the passion that women possess
is amplified by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
For me, the enlightenment of women is something very concrete, as I experience it on a daily basis.
In the face of struggles that I and, indeed, all women confront, and also in my professional life,
I put the teachings of Nichiren into practice and win victories based on the guidance of SGI President Ikeda.
I am working in Cameroon in the area of public service
and administrative reform with responsibility at a national level.
When I started to work in this field, there were only two women
and today, out of 36 executives, 13 are women!
So here in Cameroon we are really experiencing in a very concrete way
this battle for the self-fulfillment and the enlightenment of women
beginning with the enlightenment of a single individual who then positively influences her environment.
On a personal level, it is in my nature to be a fighter.
I am from a part of Cameroon where matriarchy still prevails.
In the culture of my region, women can express themselves
women have freedom.
One of the reasons for this is that there is hardly any polygamy there.
Women are running businesses.
Another factor which has affected me, and has, in a way, given me a kind of advantage,
although others may see it as a cause of suffering, is that my father died when I was 12 years old.
I am the eldest of seven children
and my mother went through great hardship to raise her five daughters and two sons.
We daughters are very strong!
When I started to practice, Buddhism not only helped me to further develop
this aspect of my character but also to channel it.
Because I was used to being strong, I found weakness hard to take.
When someone showed weakness, I looked down on them.
My Buddhist practice helped me to moderate this tendency
without changing my fundamental nature.
My passionate character helps me to encourage the members
to get results, and to never give up.
Sometimes it’s hard to express this in words, but when facing obstacles, as Nichiren says,
“Muster your faith . . . Then what is there that cannot be achieved?”
I have always based myself on this phrase:
Muster your faith, then what is there that cannot be achieved?
So every time I have faced hardships and huge obstacles
I have summoned up my faith.
Because of this I was always able to move forward, always forward.
This Buddhism has also helped me as a woman, as a mother
to overcome my self-centeredness and my ego.
Because my mother raised us by herself, we have very strong family bonds.
For us, nothing really mattered outside our family.
But with my Buddhist practice I have been able to open up my life.
Now my family is global, it is international.
This Buddhism has so much to offer women.
This practice gives me, as a woman, as a mother, as an African woman
a way to change the negative karma of Africa, and to face reality.
The violence we see in Africa does not allow us to sleep.
I cannot sleep because I am a woman, a mother, a wife, and I feel deeply
the suffering of other women, other mothers and other wives.
Buddhism helps develop this compassion that women naturally possess.
As women, we carry life, and we always want to preserve life.
I can say I am getting results from this Buddhism day in and day out, in fact all the time.
This gives me a great deal of joy and youthfulness.
I forgot to say that I am 54 years old,
and many people ask me, how, at 54, I am doing all that I do.
I reply that I chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and I’m helping women to stand up and be strong!