On November 20, a young Guinean woman, M’Mah Sylla, died in Tunis as a result of the sexual violence she suffered at the hands of doctors in a Conakry clinic. At the same time in Senegal, Ndèye Fatima Dione, Miss Senegal 2020 denounces the rape she endured during a trip organized by the organizing committee of Miss Senegal. Elle en serait même tombée enceinte selon ses propos de mi-novembre. And when this situation does not inspire compassion and spontaneous acts of repression from the appropriate institutions, the question of “rape culture” is raised in the country of hospitality and why not in all of Africa.
Rape is logically defined as: “an act in which someone is forced to have sex with someone else, by violence. “In Africa this act is above all the result of the unequal system in which we live. A patriarchal society by nature, the African model usually places women and children under the domination of men, under their authority. In 1999, the United Nations established November 25 as the international day dedicated to violence against women, but it is clear that the existence of the entire legislative arsenal surrounding the issue of violence in Africa does not really guarantee its application. The cases of rape recorded here and there on the black continent have shaken the opinion and question the situation in the countries.
The facts
M’Mah Sylla will never see her family again, at least not in this world. She left on November 20th at 25 years old, leaving behind people suffering from an immeasurable emotion. Indeed, raped for the first time last August by a doctor in a private clinic in Conakry, she noticed one month later the beginning of a pregnancy. Logically, she returns to inform him. But the latter, after having raped her a second time, tries to abort her without success. He recommended her to one of his medical colleagues who committed the same crime against M’Mah Sylla. Rapes and surgical violence followed, leaving the victim in a very bad state of health. In Tunis, M’Mah Sylla finally went for treatment. Unfortunately, she will not survive. The case has already led to the arrest and indictment of at least three people.
Meanwhile, Ndèye Fatima Dione, winner of the beauty contest Miss Senegal 2020, denounces a rape of which she is a victim during a trip organized by the committee of Miss Senegal. She would even keep a pregnancy. But so far, no court has ruled on the matter.
In Mali, a young teenager recently denounced sexual violence within the Malian basketball federation. An investigation was conducted to confirm the facts and Malian authorities arrested and charged Amadou Bamba, the head coach of the Malian national women’s under-18 basketball team, with “pedophilia, attempted rape and indecent assault.
The list is not exhaustive, acts of sexual violence are recorded every day in African courts. And this is naturally without counting the number of victims who do not have enough courage to denounce it and who suffer in silence.
Guilty victims?
In Africa, denouncing rape’s cases might not be viewed positively. Those who overcome shyness and externalize the facts, are in return subject to stigma. Indeed, an important factor in the denunciation process is the victim’s guilt. Generally, the victim is accused of causing the crime herself. Moreover, the case of Senegal is illustrative: “If you are raped, it is because you asked for it”. This is the answer given to Ndèye Fatima Dione by Amina Badiane when the victim denounced the facts. President of the organizing committee of the Miss Senegal contest, Amina Badiane blows a trumpet according to which the raped women should question their way of dressing and their behavior. Does such an attitude encourage rape or incriminate the rapist?
In any case, Ndèye Fatima Dione, the victim, has very early launched a petition demanding the dissolution of the organizing committee of the Miss Senegal contest. The said petition has already received more than 50,000 signatures. And feminist associations entered in the dance denounce by the same occasion an “apology of the rape”. If we assume that rape is not a sudden sexual impulse but rather a thoughtful and premeditated decision to seriously assault, then it is clear that the rapist would have knowingly made the choice to impose his domination on the other and to coerce him: hence the crime. The high influence of the society, does not encourage the fight against this impunity, but rather supports the act which should be strongly repressed.
Consequences of rape
The first consequences of rape are the visible ones, therefore physical. Severe pain, injuries, hymenal perforation and others are immediately noticed. In terms of health, intense fatigue, headaches, digestive and gynecological disorders, infections or sexually transmitted diseases are among the problems that can affect the health of individuals in the long term. In addition, during a sexual assault, the victim is paralyzed by the horror of the situation. This generates huge psychological distress and the level of stress felt increases severely. Trauma, confusion, low self-esteem, feelings of shame, lack of self-confidence…are some of the psychological dispositions that rape victims suffer from. In addition, social isolation, rupture with the family, difficulty in establishing a relationship with others, difficulty in finding employment, clichés and stigmas are also social consequences of a rape.
It is true that rape is recognized as a crime and punished in all African countries. But social constraints are one of the reasons for its expansion on the continent. Certainly, efforts are made to bring the victims to free themselves, but social factors still weigh on those who manage to overcome the obstacles. No statistic will be able to specify exactly how many victims, because of the shame, had to keep silent and who keep this secret with serious consequences in their soul. Is it really appropriate to condemn the raped? or the rapist? or society blaming the victim? Everybody judges according to his or her own understanding.
French translation of ” Viol en Afrique : La faute à la violée ou au violeur ?”, Eliane FATCHINA by Salima ALAGBE
