To be a Senegalese Woman...

To be as strong as a woman living in Senegal is to...

...sweep the desert sands out of your house only to watch as your family litters all over the place and never even think of helping you clean.

...express your love to your husband while he does the same back to you and one, two, or three other women.

...find the energy to cook dinner over an propane tank, bathe the children often without running water, do the dishes by hand, and then tuck the kids into bed after a full day of work while your husband watches television.

...endure multiple childbirths and refuse to number them so that it will be easier to hold yourself together when one passes away before you

education even though you yourself have a Masters and...encourage your daughter to pursue an grin through outrageous sexual discrimination in the office so to support your family.


...watch your men shamelessly pursue Toubab (white, for the most part) women knowing that it would not be socially acceptable for you to do the same.

...without complaint, prepare for hours on end three meals a day and in place of a word of thanks, listen to complaints about serving the food too hot..

...come second to all men when Attaya is served and then without protestation clean up after the mess of afternoon tea.

...wash the clothes of everyone in your family by hand, iron it all from heated coals, meticulously fold it in Senegalese fashion, and when all the above is done, put it away for everyone while all the men sit in the salon.

...find the time and will to look beautiful-- matching top and pagne, earrings, bracelets, necklace, and weave-- after a day like this.

...love your sons and husband with all your heart although the love they return is not even half as selfless or unconditional as you have showed them.

...raise your daughters to be as strong as yourself so that they can survive in a patriarchal society.