People treat women as enemies of the nation

Senegal’s victory at the African Cup of Nations caused jubilation across the continent. The Lions of Taranga’s triumph was long seen as overdue and well-deserved. At home, it gave respite to President Macky Sall’s troubled regime, as national pride overcame national despair. Not for Senegalese women though, as reports began to emerge that several women across the country were assaulted amidst the celebrations.And yet, these stories are still at the margins of Senegalese discourse, and despite some recent advances—such as a law passed in 2020 criminalizing rape—so is much of women’s rights. In this episode, Will chats to Marame Gueye and Coumba Toure about the scourge of gender-based violence in Senegal, and importantly, how feminists are resisting it. Marame is an associate professor of African and African diaspora literatures at East Carolina University, and Coumba is a writer, storyteller, and coordinator for Africans Rising for Peace Justice and Dignity based in Dakar.