GUIDE OF SÉDHIOU - Cesie

war widows left with nothing and taking care of them. In
Africa polygamy used to be part of the empire building as a lot
of women means a lot of children who can work on the fields
and support their old parents. Infertility as well as a high
mortality rate are also named as social factors contributing to
the widespread practice of polygamy.
When it comes to Senegalese men, there is mainly one reason
for polygamy: competition. A wife who has an official rival will
double and triple her efforts to please her unsatisfied
husband. Moreover men can resist better to outside
temptations which is quite important: in Islam having an
extramarital affair is the second biggest sin after murder.
Personal opinions towards polygamy show a big variety; there
are those for whom one woman is not enough, “because God
knows that for a man it is very difficult to have only one
woman” and there are others who reject polygamy, “because
the African woman is too dangerous. If you hurt her, she’ll be
capable of anything.”
Talking to Senegalese women shows a much clearer tendency:
they can’t deny that they suffer enormously from their
situation. Daily jealousy is not their only ambiguous feeling in
a polygamous marriage. Whom does the husband love more
and can he truly love and treat two or more different women
exactly the same way? Most women don’t rebel: they feel
obliged to accept the sharing of their husband as a religious
must. But their frustration is strongly felt as they are tired
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