There are some stories that really stick with me. Like life
anywhere most days now quickly slip by with nothing new for me to think of. My
life in Senegal
has become quite ‘normal’. But occasionally, there are stories that rise above
the others, stories and people that I will think about daily when I return to
the US
in May.
One of these stories is Dienaba’s. Her strength and courage
continues to astonish me and make me question myself. I hope you find it
equally compelling.
I first met Dienaba when I was interviewing the 8 winners of
the Michelle Sylvester Scholarship at the Middle School in Dialacoto. She was
similar to the rest of the girls, rather timid, spoke elementary French and was
nervous to speak to me. After the completion of the program and the school
year, I continued to get calls from her, at first not realizing who it was. When
she continued to call merely to greet me I became suspicious. This is common here
(especially from men who want to marry you), Senegalese calling incessantly,
just to say hello but eventually asking for money.
Dienaba never asked for anything, she would call at least
once a day, ask where I was and showed up at my door a few times. She would
even sweep my room, insisting that it was dirty and she wanted to clean it. One
of these times it was very early when she arrived. She was very clearly upset,
and rapidly said some things in Jahanke that I did not understand and left.
Much to my dismay, I did not understand what was going on
and her calls began to stop. I am embarrassed to admit I was grateful for the
lessening up of contact as my suspicions that she wanted money or something
from me remained.
At the start of the school year, thanks to the Michelle
Sylvester Scholarship and many of your donations, I paid her school fees and in
doing so the school administrator explained something to me. Dienaba’s parents
had forced her into a marriage that she did not want to commit to. She
continued to refuse until her only option was that she ran away. In doing so,
she isolated herself, deserting the only family and community that she knew. She
went to the police, to report her situation.
Everyday in Senegal ,
girls as young as fourteen marry men twice, three times their age. But, this is
no longer socially acceptable everywhere. There are many efforts demeaning early
marriage, promoting awareness for girls education and later marriage. I am
proud to say that in my village, while many young girls are ‘promised’ to older
men, they rarely get married until after they finish Middle School or they are
at least seventeen. Additionally, there are government laws against these
forced marriages. Dienaba is just one example.
With the police, she took her parents to the courts in
Tambacounda. There is a specific Judicial branch, dealing with child cases, and
from there she won her freedom, but also her seclusion.
Now she has no contact with her family, her brothers and
sisters, her uncle that she had lived with during the school year, none of them
communicate with her. She lives at the police station in Dialacoto. No longer
having a home but a public, temporary living space, shared with several Wolof
men and a woman who is hired there to clean. When I went to see her at her new
home she was overjoyed to have a friend visit. Naively, most will not come for
fear of the police arresting them. She seemed more determined than ever to
continue her study, but sad that she has broken so many ties in order to
fulfill this basic human right.
My reason for telling you this story is not to further the
stereotypes of ‘gender struggles’ in Africa . I
am not telling you to go donate money to NGOs supporting girl’s rights nor to
send money to Dienaba.
Rather, I want to explain that slowly slowly, girls here are
fighting back. With or without outside intervention. Here, the system put in
place by the Senegalese government worked! The police stepped up, the judicial
system supported her, teachers at the Middle School gave her pens and books, I
paid the 14 dollars for her school fees and now, she has been taken in as his
own daughter by the Chief of Police in Dialacoto. Because of help from her
community, she will finish Middle School, and hopefully be one of the rare
girls that continues to High School.
Dienaba is one of the lucky ones, her story may be rare now,
but I have faith that come ten years it will become one among many.
