What I have observed so far of the gender dynamics in Senegal

Everyday in Senegal, I observe another act or expectation placed upon a Senegalese person because of his or her gender that pisses me off. At first it was just the constant bark of 'Aissatou' from my brothers, telling my 16 year-old sister to get them a spoon while they are watching TV. But now, Aissatou's automatic assumption that because she is a female, she should not even try to succeed in school or find a job afterward that angers me far more. Everywhere, gender issues are multifaceted and I can not even imagine how one could successfully 'empower' a large group of women here (as so many NGO's repeatedly claim to do).

In an attempt to explain gender dynamics in Senegal, I will simplify the matter. Men bring the money home. Women take care of the home. If there is no job, then the men do not work. In this case, they will find other ways for their family to survive which may mean borrowing from other family members or moving to another location. Making tea, watching TV, playing sports and praying are the other appropriate alternative activities for males.

At my homestay there are 7 boys ranging from 30 to 14. While two of them are in school still, only one of older boys is working. The rest of them watch TV and play soccer. And that is it. My 'dad' lives in Spain and sends money back to the family. It is extremely easy for me to automatically get frustrated at how lazy my brothers appear to be. But in a way, I also feel bad for them. It is pretty embarrassing because they are failing at the one thing that they are expected to do in life, support their family. I know that if they really wanted to, they could sell fruit along the side of the road or find some other undocumented work. But instead, they blame the government and make the excuse that they are in no rush to find a job.

Meanwhile, the women are never short of housework. A man here would not be caught dead boiling water or washing his clothing and a woman would not want her man to do this sort of work. It is an honor to do this sort of work for the men in a woman's life. If a man wanted to get food for himself, it would be like saying that the woman had failed. It would be an insult to the woman.

This is the renter's children doing laundry. That is an extremely small pile.

So, while it is easy for me to get frustrated by the fact that Aissatou does EVERYTHING around the house from sweeping to serving food to fetching water, in some sense she is happy to do this. She is a prime candidate as a wife because any man could come to our house and see what a great worker she is. She is able to show what a good job she does taking care of so many men, and as she has made clear to me, her goal is to find a successful man to marry.

These expectations go hand-in-hand with why men here take several wives and why women encourage this behavior. Having a co-wife means someone who can take care of the house with them. Imagine hand washing clothing for 13 people. Let me tell you, it takes a freaking long, long time. Being able to get help from another female is essential, especially when you need to hand-pound millet to make a meal for 15 people while simultaneously breastfeed a new born. Similarly, this is why having girl children is also desirable. Girls can help around the house with these chores and take care of the younger siblings. Aissatou for instance is actually my cousin but she lives with us to help out my mom who had 5 boys. Hell, if I had to take care of a family of even just 7 people all on my own without Western technologies, I'd want another female to help me get the job done!

My mom preparing a meal in the kitchen

Partially due to these gender expectations but also other social barriers, it is very uncommon for women and men to become friends here. Because of all this, my last homestay visit was extremely difficult. While my language skills were improving, it did not mean that my brother's tried to talk to me more or invite me to do things with them. While some of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers were going out with family members and constantly interacting with them, I rarely interacted with my brothers other than to politely repeat the greetings. Additionally, it would have been fairly inappropriate or uncomfortable for me to ask them more personal questions. Another issue was that when I did ask them a question like what they had done that day, they were pretty embarrassed because all they said was that they watched TV and ate lunch.

So with all of this said, I am interested to see how these stereotypes will change in the village setting because much of this is very specific to an urban setting and my personal experience in Mbour. Additionally, do not worry, I still did have a good time in Mbour, but I am very anxious to move to village where there are more women for me to interact with. So stay posted!