The election of Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye as Senegal’s fifth president seems to have reinstated the country’s status as a beacon of democracy in the West African region plagued with coups. The Senegalese are hopeful that this new wind of change will bring a paradigm shift in governance. However, the small number of women in the new government leaves many to wonder: Whose democracy is it anyway?
On March 24, Faye won in the first round with 54.28% of the votes. Faye was in jail until 10 days before the elections when he and Ousmane Sonko, the populist leader of his party PASTEF (Senegalese Party for Work, Ethics, and Fraternity), benefited from a last-minute amnesty law by then-President Macky Sall who attempted to postpone the elections indefinitely. On April 2, Faye was sworn in at an elegant ceremony attended by many West African heads of state. At 44, Faye is the youngest president in Senegal’s history, and as a proxy for Ousmane Sonko, who was barred from running, brings no experience of public office to the presidency.
Faye chose Ousmane Sonko as Prime Minister, who, after days of suspense, unveiled the first government comprising 30 secretarial positions, of which only four were women. To add insult to injury, the Ministry of Women is eliminated and absorbed into the new Ministry of Family and Solidarities. This leaves many, especially women’s rights activists, to wonder whether the “rupture” or radical breakaway that Faye’s party promised during the campaign means a backward movement that excises women from leadership positions and confines them to the home and family. The underrepresentation of women is glaring in the first official group picture of the government, which included the President and Prime Minister. As if to emphasize their presence, the women adorning traditional clothing in light colors are sprinkled, like pixie dust, over the mass of men in black and dark blue European suits.
Feminists and civil society organizations have published statements denouncing the small number of women in the newly formed government and the elimination of the Ministry of Women. Still, they are met with backlash from PASTEF loyalists who argue that claims of parity and equity are imported and that the choice of government members is based on competence, not gender. The Senegalese were waiting to see if the President would correct this first blow to women by nominating more women to other significant leadership roles in the coming weeks. However, on April 24, the nominations of 17 directors of national agencies included only two women. So far, over 50 nominations have been made and only eight of them are women.
For women, who constitute 49.4 % of the Senegalese population, this change is a backward move, stepping over their rights gained during years of struggle for equality in this hetero-patriarchal majority Muslim country. Senegalese women have fought alongside men to maintain the country’s democratic tradition. During the last couple of years of Macky Sall’s regime, many women, especially PASTEF supporters, were imprisoned. Still, when assigning leadership positions within the government, they are slighted under the pretext that competence trumps gender. As usual, competence is invoked only when it comes to women. Senegal and its diaspora count many competent women, including in PASTEF, who could have been tapped for better representation and equity. The government of Macky Sall counted eight women secretaries, and Mimi Toure became the first female Prime Minister.
In his speeches, President Faye only mentioned women once when he emphasized the urgency of “employment for youth and women,” two entities often lumped together, with women always coming last. The Ministry of Women was the umbrella entity that conveyed to women that their rights mattered and that the state was dedicated to curtailing the stark gender inequalities within Senegalese society. Through the Ministry of Women and Children, Senegal was a leading actor in global efforts for gender equity. Taking it away will exacerbate the already precarious situation of women in Senegal. Another ministry that has been eliminated is the Ministry of Community Development, National Solidarity and Equity. The elimination of the Ministry of Women and the removal of the words “women” and “equity” from the new Ministry of Family and Solidarity conveys a deliberate intent to undermine the importance of women’s rights and consider their role only within the family. In the decree stipulating the denominations of the new Ministry of Family and Solidarity, the definition of the family seems to be reduced to women and children.
In Africa, the nation-state is a colonial model whose benefits are only attainable to a few and do not give the majority the tools for self-actualization. In Senegal, women are outside this imagined community. They are the “other” in the “we,” generally considered male. Women have constitutional rights, but they are not treated equally. Feminicide, sexual violence, child marriage, and other gendered discriminations are rampant in the country. For example, rape was a simple misdemeanor until 2020, and even after it became a crime punishable by a minimum of 10 years, judges, who are in the majority male, fail to apply the law entirely. The archaic and sexist family code inherited from the French colonial administration has not been revised to reflect the gains and promise of gender equity. Women still do not have full parental rights over their children and cannot travel with them without the authorization of the father. The search for paternity is not allowed, and women are left to bear the responsibility of their children born out of wedlock if the father refuses to acknowledge paternity. The age of marriage for girls is 16 compared to 18 for boys.
Senegal still has not applied the international conventions related to gender equity it has signed, such as the Maputo Protocol, which allows women the right to abortion. Abortion is illegal in Senegal, even in cases of rape or incest. Women count higher rates of illiteracy because of the factors cited above that keep them out of school. Although under Abdoulaye Wade, women gained a parity law in the National Assembly, they are still less than 45% of that entity. This misogyny from the state considers women outside the democratic enterprise and is at the core of the increasing subordination of women in Senegal.
PASTEF sold to the Senegalese people an agenda to decolonize the relationship with the West, especially France. However, this decoloniality is shrouded in coloniality. The composition of the new government and the dissolving of the Ministry of Women augur a regression in women’s rights that seems to be a trend in the region. This is the case in the Gambia, where Islam and culture are weaponized to push for the repeal of a law banning FGM. In the name of culture and religion, women’s rights are increasingly eroded. This gendered decoloniality is clad in colonial garb and accessorized with a patriarchal Islam yet claims an Africanity that exists only in the imaginaries of the men who want to implement it. Accusations that notions of parity and gender equality are Western imports ignore the roles that Senegalese women played in anti-colonial struggles and how African women contributed to decolonizing knowledge.
The underrepresentation of women in the government and the elimination of the Ministry of Women do not reassure those who fear that Faye’s term will be a Salafist one with fundamentalist ideas about the role and place of women, notwithstanding that Senegal has a secular constitution, and the peaceful cohabitation between Muslims and Christians (mainly Catholics) is part of the foundation of its strong democracy. Faye has visited religious leaders from both faiths. He also announced at the Council of Ministers on April 17 that he had created an office of religious affairs within the presidency and would prioritize the employment of teachers of Arabic. It is unclear whether this office of religious affairs will cater to all religions; however, prioritizing Arabic does not suggest fairness to all religions and undermines the importance of local languages. Furthermore, creating an office for religious affairs and eliminating the Ministry of Women sets the tone of this presidency and where the priority lies. One wonders whether Senegalese women will soon have to adopt a burqa as a state-mandated style of clothing.
Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has a problematic relationship with women, and his ascent to the second-highest position in the government is a violent blow to victims of sexual assault. In 2021, he was accused of rape by Adji Raby Sarr, a young masseuse, allegations that he denied accusing the regime of Macky Sall of plotting to disqualify him for the 2024 elections. The cases plunged Senegal into two years of violent crisis during which at least two dozen people lost their lives. Sonko refused to undergo a DNA test and did not attend the trial. His charge was ultimately reduced to corruption of the youth and he was sentenced to two years in prison, which he never served. In an address after the court hearing, Sonko made aberrant misogynistic comments about his accuser, stating: “If I were to rape, I would not rape someone who looks like a she-monkey afflicted with a stroke.”
Following the election of Faye, Sonko’s accuser fled to Switzerland. In a viral video, PASTEF loyalists are seen in the lobby of a Geneva hotel where Sarr was rumored to be staying, questioning staff about her whereabouts. One of them is heard telling the hotel staff that Sarr was responsible for the deaths of many people in Senegal. Sonko, a member of parliament then, never denied violating a Covid-imposed curfew to visit the shady massage parlor where Sarr worked and where he was a regular customer. He also never…