Colonialism can never go unmentioned as far as the birth of many African nations is concerned. The Western countries came in the early years to scramble for Africa and they won themselves various territories. Some colonized Africa’s southern, western, northern, central, and eastern parts. Among these European powers was the French, who were mostly found in the western countries of Africa. They came from their native regions and conquered the Africans for various reasons, including the advantage of superior weapons. So, this meant that they would introduce their regimes the way they wanted and exercise their power over the African natives. Among the countries of West Africa, this French regime became established in Senegal. They were doing various activities in Senegal during their reign, with many changes witnessed by the natives, contrary to what they had been used to. This colonial rule made trade between their nation France and Senegal, where they would export clothes, iron, and muskets to Senegal and import items such as ivory, spices, and human beings as slaves from Senegal. During this time, everybody was affected by the ruling regime and felt oppressed. But among all the victims, the plight of the women became more pronounced in the region than in the rest of the people. The discrimination and segregation that was happening to women during the era were threatening the existence of gender. The European colonizers would forcefully drive women out of their jobs, claiming they had no right to own such positions because of being female gender. They also ensured that women did not own anything valuable. So, they would take away their properties. They were not allowed to hold any governmental office. This paper will majorly focus on colonialism’s impacts on Senegalese women, which threatened their place in society.
Many documents, literary texts, and films have recorded what the Senegalese women were going through during the colonial period. Among the films which have been seen to give an authentic representation of colonialism in Senegal is Ousmane Sembene’s film. It shows well the place of women in Senegalese society during the colonial era and even afterward. After the colonial master left Senegal, it was thought that life would be easy and that survival would be as it was before, but unfortunately, this was not the case, especially on the side of women. According to the film, the colonial master has left the country, but the land is characterized and poverty and political instability. This makes one of the women in the film, Diouana, leave the country to go and get a better life in France (). She is struggling very much in Senegal, and making ends meet becomes hard. So, according to her, life will be better in France than in Senegal.
However, Sembene applies juxtaposition in his artistic work between Diouana’s life in Senegal and her life in France. Sembene asserts that the difficulties that Diouana is going through in France are clear that life is better in Senegal despite political and economic struggles. There were important sectors where women were supposed to participate but all in vain. No decisions, whether in the business or the pollical field ((Petty, pg. 18)). Diouana had more happiness and mental liberty in Senegal, which she did not enjoy in France. Nobody recognizes her in France, and her life is isolated and dark. She was dined her right openly and treated like an outskirt because she was from Senegal. It is not that every other woman in France was undergoing the same treatment, no. The French women were enjoying their rights and places well in society. The fact that Diouana did not experience the promises and freedom that France gave to women was clear that African women were of no value to the Europeans. This explains the ideas of colonialism and racism embraced by the colonial regimes. They valued themselves far more than those blacks. Diouana’s thoughts that she would go and enjoy the good opportunities she would hear of in France bred the unexpected. One will be in a position to know the condition in Senegal as far as the life of women is concerned. Diouana deeply believes that she will have a good job and salary once she has gone to Paris. At one point, she says that once she has been paid, she will send some of her pictures back to Dakar for people to see her progress outside the country. All the hope has been transferred from Senegal for Diouana, and she says France is everything to her. These sentiments made by Diouana show it is difficult for somebody to make it in their lives in Senegal, especially if the person is a lady. Diouana represents many African women who, even today, go through hardship in European countries due to their skin color.
Diouana knows that France is a racist country but ignores that she will be a black woman in a white-dominated country. Madame is among the prime examples of how colonialists treated and placed black people, especially women, in their lives. The mistreatment that Diouana goes through in the hands of people like Madame indicates that African women are taken like items or even properties. This means they are not supposed to make their own decisions, especially if the decision can challenge men’s take.
The narrow space in the society that women have been given continues even several years after Senegal’s achievement of independence. So, life in the post-colonial was harsher for women than for men. It means there were African people in positions of leadership who adopted some of the behavior of the European powers. This is because there would be no reason for Diouana to go to France trying to get better for her life. It shows that though Senegal is independent, women are yet to receive their freedom in various ways. They are the most unemployed and the most desperate for jobs. So, this implies that neocolonialism puts women under exploitation, especially in the employment sector.
The exploitation of women cannot be hidden since a good representation is the life of Diouana. She undergoes dehumanization and is very much aware that she can never be given a chance to exercise her rights. This makes her prefer silence (Nunn, pg 194). So, even though she is aware of the mistreatment, it forces her to suppress her power due to the system of oppression instilled in the society leaving room for deception and all other kinds of vices (Calhoun, pg 102). The conflict between Madame and Diouana shows how women are mistreated in Senegal. Whenever these women find themselves in job places, the employers degrade them and lie to them, taking advantage of their vulnerability set by the colonial powers. According to some articles on this film, the best ways women can do is to remain silent while all these mistreatments are happening to them. Diouana and her mother’s silence is witnessed. Some scholars assert that this kind of silence resounds the collective silence of women in the entire region forced by female gender oppression, neocolonialism, colonialism, and discriminating economic policies. (Nunn, pg 193). Being a house help, Diouana makes a lot of things to be understood about oppressors and where they place women in society. Diouana was not supposed to appear well-dressed. According to Madame, who stands as an oppressor in the film, Diouana was supposed to remain on an apron throughout the day.
Racism was not something to be hidden since Madame restricting Diouana on the dress code meant that the black was not allowed to look feel beautiful. Only white people were considered human beings. The rest were seen as lesser beings. Madame was taking advantage of the presence of Diouana until Diouana realized that she was being lied to. This was the real picture of what was happening to most women in the Senegal region. Most of them are jobless, and the job that comes on their way is the one they go for. This includes where they find themselves in the hands of wicked people who aim to exploit workers. They have no other option other than staying and being obedient to their bosses since there are no jobs, especially for the female gender.
Though Senegal was finally independent after the Europeans returned to their country, women were yet to receive their independence. The mistreatment of the women indicated that society was male-dominated. It reached a point where Diouana was exhausted from the dehumanization and disrespectful action that Madame was showing her. The meaning of this is that the women’s oppression was so pronounced that they were getting enough and tired of the mistreatment (Calhoun, pg 102). A good example is Diouana who was not happy with the kind of life Madame was forcing her to live. Even in the morning, she was not allowed to make herself like it would be good and necessary for any other lady. The Senegalese women were placed in a position where they were not thought to have feelings like others. Most of the things and rights denied to these women were very basic, being directed in what kind of attire to wear. Their dress code was highly monitored. At one point, Diouana was told by Madame that she was not supposed to wear heels because she was just a maid (Kayır, pg 2). This would make her feel that she does not deserve to be in that society.
In the employment sector, there were positions made for only men, which made many women lose their jobs and stay without jobs. However, there are some works in which, due to masculinity, only men are supposed to occupy those positions. During colonialism, although white men occupied many positions in the employment sectors, some were given to blacks. Among these given to blacks, only black men were given chances in these places. Women were supposed to be at home caring for the children and other activities (Petty, pp 17 -28). The level of racism was very high such that it was difficult for any black to find their way into some positions. The ones who were privileged because they collaborated with the Europeans. But there was no place for women at all.
When women saw no place for them in society, some decided to look for alternatives. Among the alternatives was going to the outside countries to try their lack there regarding earning a living. This is seen in the character of Diouana. The colonialists oppressed women, and they thought that life would change completely to their goodness. This would have been the case, but neocolonialism took over immediately. African leaders in the political arena, as seen before, took positions of power in the business and political sectors. They seemed to adopt the behaviors of the Europeans in the place where women were placed.
So, the thought of Diouana getting to the point of moving from Senegal to France only represents many of the women in the same region who were jobless. Once a person has reached a point of coming out of a country to go to another in search of employment, there is no hope in their native countries, even in the future. If Diouana can move from Senegal to France in such for a better life, it is to mean that there is no hope for a brighter future. If Diouana had seen that things would be good in the future, she would not have gone. The life experienced after colonialism was contrary to what most people expected.
Most of the African countries were in celebration after hearing that the colonial powers were going back to their native countries. It is because they thought problems would be over. In most African regions, the cases were like the ones in Senegal. Diouana tried as much as possible to find a job in Senegal as a woman, but all was in vain. There was a time Sembene made Diouana come across a certain group of men who were talking about the progress and the future of Senegal now that the colonial regime had gone. These men were optimistic that one thing would improve, and the Senegal they were waiting for would finally come. These men were visionary, meaning people waited patiently for economic and political thriving in Senegal. Even if the economy and politics of the region become favorable to everyone, the issues are on the treatment of women. Sembene presented in his articles, films, and books that there was a problem with the Senegalese society. This problem was adopted from the colonial regime that women were not equal to men.
When one looks at the experience between Diouana and Madame and the expectation that Diouana had before, people should not have so many expectations of something. It might lead someone into depression if it does not happen as expected. So, people should always have hope in life but not to the extreme.
In conclusion, colonialism in Senegal created a society that did not value the place of women. Women went through a lot of problems, including being denied their rights and freedom. The dehumanization and the mistreatment showed that women were not positioned and recognized like men. There are many platforms the films have been seen to give a real representation of the colonialism in Senegal, as Ousmane Sembene’s film. It shows well the place of women in Senegalese society during the colonial era and even afterward. After the colonial regime left Senegal, it was thought that life would be easy and that survival would be as it was before, but unfortunately, this was not the case, especially on the side of women. The author, Sembene, asserts that in Senegal, Diouana had more happiness and mental liberty, privileges that she does not enjoy in France. Nobody recognizes her in France, and her life is isolated and dark. She was dined her right openly and treated like an outskirt because she was from Senegal. It is not that every other woman in France was undergoing the same treatment, no. The French women enjoyed their rights and places well in society (Kayır, pg. 127).
The fact that Diouana did not experience the promises and freedom that France gave to women was clear that African women were of no value to the Europeans. This explains the ideas of colonialism and racism embraced by the colonial regimes. They valued themselves far more than those blacks. The word blacks meant black males and females in the region. But according to the author, the state of the women had caused an alarm in the region, suffering to the extent of going to other countries like in the case of Diouana. Life continues to be difficult, and people need to know that Saba’s Racism was not something to be hidden since Madame restricting Diouana on the dress code meant that the black was not allowed to look feel beautiful. Only white people were considered human beings. The rest were seen as lesser beings. Madame was taking the advantage of the presence of Diouana until Diouana realized that she was being lied to. This was the real picture of what was happening to most women in the Senegal region. Most of them are jobless, and the job that comes on their way is the one they go for. This includes where they find themselves in the hands of wicked people who aim to exploit workers. The oppression of the women was so pronounced that they were getting enough and tired of the mistreatment.
A good example is Diouana, who was not happy with the kind of life Madame was forcing her to live. Even in the morning, she was not allowed to make herself like it would be good and necessary for any other lady. The Senegalese women were placed in a position where they were not thought to have feelings like others. Most of the things and rights which were denied to these women were very basic. By being directed in what attire to wear, it is clear that their dress code was highly monitored.
Works Cited
Calhoun, Doyle. “(Im) possible Inscriptions: Silence, Servitude, and Suicide in Ousmane Sembène’s La Noire de….” Research in African Literatures 51.2 (2020): 96-116.
Kayır, Oğuz. “Reconfiguring Senegalese filmmakers as Griots: Identity, migration and authorship practice.” international journal of francophone studies 25.1-2 (2022): 119-139.
Nunn, Tessa. “Screaming Mother and Silent Subaltern in Ousmane Sembene’s La Noire de….” Women in French Studies Special Conference Issue. 2019.
Petty, Sheila. “Images of Women and Oppression in’Francophone’West African Film.” Canadian Journal of Communication 14.3 (2019): 17-28.
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