Miss Senegal Rape Case: To Whom Do Women’s Bodies Belong ?
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1822
Miss Senegal 2020 Was Impregnated By A Rapist
The Miss Senegal 2020 rape case just like similar cases before it, appears to prove that in the country, women’s bodies belong to anyone else except themselves. In Senegal, gender-based violence has occupied the headlines for the longest time. In a past instance, Senegal’s top beauty pageant, Miss Senegal was at the centre of controversy.
Miss Senegal Fatima Dione’s mother told Senegalese media that her daughter was raped as she carried out official pageant duties. She alleged that her daughter fell pregnant as a result of the rape and later on delivered to her son. Fatima’s mother talked about the pain and shame her daughter underwent after delivering a baby conceived through rape.
The issue was brought under the national spotlight when pageant officials responded to the incident. Amina Badiane, the President of the Organising Committee blamed Dione for the turnover of the events. Badiane said that rape happened to Miss Senegal because she wanted it to happen. He said,
” If Miss Senegal 2020 was raped, it’s because she wanted it. She is over 18,” He said. His comments caused a national uproar among women’s rights advocates. The advocates have fought to make rape a serious crime in the country succeeding in the war in January 2020.
Numerous women filed complaints against Badiane for what they termed as a “rape apology”. They also petitioned for the immediate withdrawal of the organising committee’s operating license garnering more than 60,000 signatures. Former Miss Senegal Laureates also spoke about enduring sexual abuse during their time in the pageant. Badiane’s remarks and his attempt to legitimise sexual assault and rape were outrageous in as much as she apologized for the same. It’s a no-brainer that it was her responsibility to ensure the well-being of the beauties.
There is a deep-rooted culture of rape in the country. A large number of people don’t have the knowledge of what rape and sexual assault constitute. Perpetrators of such serious crimes are not often brought to justice or shunned by authorities. Public figures like Badiane often engage in victim-blaming without really facing any consequences.
In 2018 for instance, a public commentator and philosophy professor Songue Diouf presented on a popular show owned by a Senegalese pop star, Youssou N’Dour that women were sexually assaulted because of their behaviour and mode of dressing. He said, ” You do everything so that we rape you, and when we rape you, we go to prison and you who have done everything so that you are raped, you continue to be free.”
The commentator’s reports and Badiane’s case are just examples of the few cases of sexual assault in Senegal. A famous Senegalese feminist recently asked, “To whom do women’s bodies belong?” The Miss Senegal 2020 rape cases plus other cases like it seem to demonstrate that Senegalese women’s bodies belong to everyone except themselves.
1822
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