Vera Songwe who has Cameroonian roots from Bamendankwe, in the North West region, was accused of disrespecting the tradition of her people, by crossing over her legs in front of a man, thereby showing disrespect to the entire male folk.

Gender Activists saw this move as “irrational” and have been condemning Ms. Vera's attackers by posting similar pictures of prominent African women , sitting in same positions, while holding diplomatic talks with important male parties. Amongst the pictures are that of Former First Lady of the US, Michèle Obama, who took a picture, while crossing over her legs, with late South African hero, Nelson Mandela, as well as TV Host Oprah Winfred, taking same pictures with the latter.

These posts started by an activist, Rebecca Enonchong on twitter, are followed by a hashtag #VeraSongweChallenge. Some of the activists express fear that the concerns could be more of skin colour than the leg crossing, since other white female leaders had sat in same way during visits to the Presidency or the country’s Prime Minister, yet no alarm was raised about it. Another activist Comfort Mussa, who runs a female NGO in Cameroon, expressed regret on how Cameroonians settled for petty things, over the most important aspect of her visit.

These activists rebuke critics for failing to grasp the message of economic development, explained by Ms. Songwe during her stay in Cameroon, and rather focusing on minute things like capturing her crossing over her legs.

Such condemnations are typical especially within communities in the North West region, who still look down on the rights of women.

To her peers, the position Ms. Vera’s took was that which made her comfortable and not a sign of disrespecting. In some of these communities, women don’t speak, suggest, or act, when a man is talking. These cultural traditions have made some societies remain wanton in terms of gender equality, and therefore, a continuous need for activists to push on.