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 AFROL
Gender Profiles:
Senegal
Senegal is the most westerly African state, lying in the transition zone between the Sudan and Sahelian belts. The principal ethnic groups are Wolof, Fulani, Serer, Toucouleur, and Diola and the principal religion is Islam.
Women are in general confined to traditional roles. They are married at young age, half of them live in polygynous unions and they are objects to
multiple childbirths. Up to 20% of girls undergo Female Genital Mutilation. Most women in Senegal have no educational opportunities.
The Constitution of Senegal states that "men and women shall be equal in law" and prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, sex, class, or language. However, discrimination against women is pervasive,
especially in rural areas. The Government frequently does not enforce antidiscrimination laws.
Social data
Life expectancy: Male 60.6 years, female 63.82 years (2000 est.).
Infant mortality: 58.08 deaths/1.000 live births (2000 est.).
Alphabetization rate: Total population: 33.1%, male: 43%, female: 23.2% (1995 est.)
Medical services: 0.07 doctors each 1.000 inhabitants. 60% of total population has no access to health services.
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Religious data:
Of a population of 8.8m, about 92% are Muslims, 6% have indigenous beliefs, and 2% are Christian (mostly Roman Catholic).
Family and tradition
Despite constitutional protections, women face extensive societal discrimination, especially in rural areas where Islamic and traditional customs, including polygyny and Islamic rules of inheritance, are strongest, and women generally are confined to traditional roles. By law, women have the right to choose when and whom they marry; however, in some areas, traditional practice can restrict a woman's choice. There is no minimum age of consent to marry, marriages are sometimes arranged in some communities, and in polygynous unions women do not have the right of notification or approval prior to a subsequent marriage. In the countryside, women perform much of the subsistence farming and child rearing and have limited educational opportunities. Although the Government has committed itself to equalizing male and female primary school enrollment, there is still much social and official discrimination against women in educational opportunities. Only 23 percent of females over 15 years of age are literate, while the rate for males over age 15 is 43 percent.
Gender sensitivity in society
It is estimated that only 20 percent of women are engaged in paid employment. Moreover, traditional practices make it difficult for women to obtain bank credit. Due to the fact that legally men are considered heads of household, women pay higher taxes than men for equal wages and employers pay child allowances to men and not women. Women usually marry young (the majority by age 16 in rural areas) and average 5.7 live births (down from 7 in 1995). About half of all women live in polygynous unions.
In 1994, women represented 8 per cent of all workers in the private sector and 15 per cent in the public
sector, according to government sources. In the private sector, women were paid by piece-work, while men were paid by the hour, manifesting serious inequalities.
In urban areas, women encounter somewhat less discrimination and are active in government, political life, the legal profession, and business. About 14 percent of lawyers are women. Urban women are more likely to take advantage of the Government's efforts to increase respect for women's legal rights to divorce, alimony, and child support, and to seek education and employment. In general urban women receive equal pay for equal work.
In September 1998 the Ministry of Family, Social Action, and National Solidarity announced plans to create a national center for women's rights. The decision arose from a ministry-sponsored workshop on the promotion of the legal status of women and elimination of all forms of discrimination. The Observatoire National des Droits de la Femme (ONDF), as the center is to be called, has as its mandate the "control, protection, and promotion of the status of women and girls; information, education, and awareness." It is to have members from both the Government and civil society.
Health data
Access to potable water: 63%
Medical services: 0.07 doctors each 1.000 inhabitants. 60% of total population has no access to health services
Maternal mortality rate: 1.200/100.000.
Infant mortality: 58 deaths/1.000 live births (2000 est.).
Female Genital Mutilation: Between 5 and 20% of girls undergo this procedure (est.).
In January 1999 the Government passed legislation banning the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), which is widely condemned by international health experts as damaging to both physical and psychological health. The law made FGM a criminal offense carrying a jail term ranging from 6 months to 5 years for persons directly practicing FGM or ordering it to be
carried out on a third person. Most human rights organizations considered the law to be a decisive step towards greater protection of women. However, a few women's rights activists criticized the new legislation because they perceived it as being dictated by Western donors. A few Muslim religious leaders also criticized the law because they consider FGM to be a religious practice. While the Government sponsors programs to educate women regarding the dangers of FGM, other critics of the new law contended that these programs should have been more widespread prior to implementation of the ban. On July 27, the public prosecutor in Tambacounda ordered the arrest of the grandmother and mother of a 5-year-old girl following a complaint filed by the girl's father alleging that the two women had ordered FGM performed on his daughter. The FGM practitioner also was charged.
FGM is not practiced by the country's largest ethnic group, the Wolofs (representing 43 percent of the population), but it
is performed on girls belonging to some other ethnic groups. Infibulation, the most extreme and dangerous form of FGM, is practiced by members of Toucouleur and Peulh ethnic groups, particularly those in rural areas. Unsubstantiated recent studies estimate that between 5 and 20 percent of girls undergo the
procedure of infibulation.
HIV/AIDS: In 1994, government sources linked HIV/AIDS to prostitution, with 30 per cent of all cases of HIV/AIDS
in Senegal being women.
Violence against women
There are credible reports that violence against women, usually wife beating, is common. Several women's groups have formed to address this problem. Police usually do not intervene in domestic disputes, and most people are reluctant to go outside the family for redress. In contrast, the law and society view rape as a very serious crime, and the law stipulates that persons convicted of rape may be imprisoned for up to 10 years. If the victim is a minor, her age is considered an aggravating circumstance. Rape trials often result in convictions. In January the Government passed legislation amending the criminal law to make sexual harassment a crime punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years and a fine of $88 (500,000 CFA francs). The legislation also increased the potential fine to $833 (500,000 CFA francs) and the length of imprisonment for domestic violence to 5 years.
Main sources: U.S. Department of State, CIA,
Mundo negro
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