VZCZCXYZ0008
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDK #0165/01 0391257
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081257Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0010
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS DAKAR 000165 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS SOCI PINR SG
SUBJECT: Senegal: Women in Politics 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: In a series of conversations with some of 
Senegal's leading female political activists a picture has emerged 
of a gender that is becoming an increasingly important part of this 
country's complicated and yet sometimes monochromatic political 
environment.  Today's political parties and movements are a far cry 
from past years where women were considered largely decorative, 
serving more as vote-getters rather than serious players. End 
Summary 
 
The Rise of Women in Politics 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) "We're being taken more seriously nowadays as the men have 
seen how hard we are fighting for the same causes" opined Aminata 
Mbengue Ndiaye, the fearsome leader of the Socialist Party's (PS) 
Women's group and the party's number two ranked leader.  Known as 
one who does not mince her words, Ndiaye said that women in Senegal 
are now better educated, no longer illiterate, aware of their 
political rights and that, ironically, Senegal's current economic 
downturn has been a boon for women; "These economic problems have 
empowered women in Senegal.  We are the ones who run our families. 
We feed the children and the men.  We know how hard life has become 
because everyday we have to manage meager funds to make sure that 
everyone can get by.  It just underlines how smart we are and how 
innovative we have become."  This point of view is one shared by the 
deputy leader of political party Jef/Jeul, Rahmet Sow, who agrees 
that the poor state of the economy has given women a lot of 
experience in managing money which has lead to an increase in 
entrepreneurialism; "Women are more adaptive.  The men have given 
up.  It's them who are out of work in this country not the women." 
Aminata Diallo, the dynamic head of the PS's female youth movement, 
observed that the Information Age has been crucial in the 
emancipation of women as they are now better educated, better 
informed and realize that staying at home is an option not an 
obligation. 
 
Obstacles Remain 
---------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Still all three women admit inadequate financial 
independence is a significant obstacle to greater female 
participation because men continue to control the purse strings both 
at home and in government and that women will never be truly 
politically emancipated until they can attain financial 
independence.  According to Sow, "The feminist revolution won't come 
from the elite; it will come from the countryside where women work 
and totally dominate the day-to-day management of their villages. 
All the men do is farm for 3 months a year and then sit around." 
She went on to say that strong and accomplished women who are 
interested in getting involved in politics are few and far between 
and that despite recent advances many of them are still being used 
and controlled by the men in their parties.  Ndiaye agreed saying, 
"Too many decisions regarding the role of women are being made by 
men."  However, a December 30, 2007 law ending fiscal discrimination 
which had caused women to pay higher taxes than men for the same 
salary is seen as a step in the right direction for women to achieve 
some level of financial independence. 
 
Fighting Tradition 
------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) "Women in Senegal are their own worst enemies," said Fanta 
Diallo, leader of the non-political Mouvement Tekki's youth wing, 
"Because while we represent 52 percent of the electoral block we are 
unable to turn this majority into any meaningful progress: 
traditionally we are not trusted.  This country is very 
stereotypical in that respect.  Man is always presented as being 
strong, decisive, while women are cast in a different more 
subservient light and it has become very difficult to extract 
ourselves from this stigma.  The role that women are assigned in 
Senegal is mostly managerial and not very political and I don't 
think that this is a solid foundation upon which to build a women's 
movement.  Also, different tribes have different viewpoints and this 
complicates matters even more.  Added to that is a misogynistic 
interpretation of Islam that has resulted in women being less 
educated than men.  While this has improved greatly, we do have a 
lot of work to do but I believe that all our goals are achievable." 
Historian and feminist activist Penda MBow agreed saying, "The 
system of patriarchy is still alive and well."  It is clear that 
Senegalese women in politics face opposition from some traditional 
leaders.  The spokesperson of the Tijane Islamic brotherhood, for 
example, told Poloff that he was not a supporter of women exercising 
leadership responsibilities at national level. 
 
But Progress is being Made 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Diallo, believes that after the Senegalese Democratic Party 
(PDS) came to power, things changed for women in the PS as the party 
was forced to re-invent itself to stay relevant.  Today the PS has 
15 women in the party's top decision-making organ, the Political 
Bureau, as opposed to three in 2000.  Statistically speaking, the 
number of women in the political arena has increased dramatically 
since the PDS came to power in 2000.  The newly reconstituted 
100-member Senate has 40 women and the parliament recently passed a 
law that would mandate gender parity in elections.  President 
Abdoulaye Wade has been keen to increase the number of women in his 
cabinet and, despite firing five of his female ministers in the most 
recent re-shuffle, four encumber what are considered solid 
portfolios.  Still given the importance of women in the voting 
population, Wade's attempts have so far been more symbolic than 
effective in promoting women in leadership positions. In the 2007 
legislative elections only a handful of women were selected by the 
PDS to run at the district level from where 90 out of 150 
parliamentary deputies are elected.  It remains to be seen if the 
PDS will give a better chance to women in the May 2008 local 
elections where only one of Senegal's 320 rural communities is 
headed by a woman. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Another crucial factor in the rise of women has been the 
support of Senegal's extremely influential Muslim religious leaders. 
 Aminata Ndiaye says that while this support was unexpected it turns 
out that according to their interpretation, the Koran does not 
forbid women to work.  Thus, while it may not sit well with many 
religious leaders to see women in politics, Ndiaye believes that the 
marabouts won't work to undermine them.  For example, in 2003 when a 
group of prominent Muslim intellectuals lobbied the government to 
adopt a new family Code based on Sharia (Islamic Law), the country's 
leading marabouts, who were actually sympathetic to the idea, never 
opposed President Wade when he rejected the project. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) while women in Senegal face many obstacles in their fight 
for political empowerment, there are signs that things are heading 
the right direction.  The advent of the internet and more investment 
in the education system as well as the support of the religious 
brotherhoods in the education of young girls has translated into 
increasing opportunities for girls and women in Senegal.  Still, 
Senegal remains a deeply conservative country bound by tradition and 
this will take time and patience to overcome.  However, women 
leaders such as Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye are paving the way for the 
next generation of women leaders such as Fanta Diallo and Rahmet Sow 
who see a much more level playing field ahead. End Comment. 
 
SMITH