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Last Updated: Wednesday, 16 May 2007, 05:13 GMT 06:13 UK

Standing up for Cameroon's short people
By Francis Ngwa Niba
BBC News, Bamenda, Cameroon


Short people in Bamenda, north-western Cameroon are joining together to campaign for an end to what they say is discrimination by their taller compatriots.


Jonathan Fru (l) says billboards are too high for short people

They say they are treated like second-class citizens.

To spearhead their fight for equality, they have set up the Association of Short People in Cameroon (ASPC), which has been officially registered.

To belong to the association, prospective members have to be no taller than 1.60m (5'2").

This height limitation was increased from the original 1.56m, following protests from those who were taller than the intended limit but still considered themselves to be short people.


Joining this association has given me some self-esteem

Stephen Ngang, 1.20m (3'9")
"We felt that we should protect our interests. During recruitment, especially into the armed forces, there is always a height limit which disqualifies many short people [a person must be above 1.65m (5'4") to join the armed forces in Cameroon]," he says.

"Carpenters make chairs that are too high for us and so we are not comfortable sitting with others," he says.



Do short people know we also have problems?

John, 2m (6'6")

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6655515.stm