Day 21 - Islam

Well, I write today’s post as possibly my last will and testament.  We go to Touba tomorrow, which is a desert where it is supposed to be over 100 degrees.  It is also a religious city, so everyone is required to wear extremely conservative clothing, meaning long sleeves and skirts, and scarves covering our heads.  There’s at least a 75% chance that I am going to die of heat stroke before the day’s over.  If I do die, I would like my ashes scattered off the coast of Maine, I feel like that’s a nice touch.  I don’t really have any money for people to fight over, so there’s no point in worrying about that.  Whoever wants my possessions can duel for them.  With swords. 

Nothing terribly interesting to report for today.  We went to a university that specializes in business, actually just down the street from where I’m living, and had back-to-back lectures on Islam.  To be honest I missed a lot of what was said, they kind of lost my interest once the lecture turned into more of a history lesson.  It’s hard enough for me to remember US history.  The one point that has managed to stick with me has been the lack of rights that Muslim women have.  The most shocking in my opinion is the role of polygamy in their relationships.  I’ve never really had a huge problem with polygamy before, it doesn’t bother me at all in the Mormon religion.  As long as all parties are aware that they are entering into polygamous relations, and are consenting, I fully support the right of people to do whatever they please.  However, that is not how polygamous relationships work in Senegal.  Here, a married man will start to see another woman on the side without informing his wife.  In fact, she is not told until he is actually engaged to the other woman.  Sometimes, the husband won’t even be the one to tell the wife that he has taken a second fiancée, he will convince his brother to handle the situation for him.  The majority of women here do not seem to particularly like this situation, but they also do not feel as if they really have a choice.  They have learned to accept that it is part of their religion, and there is very little they can do to stop their husband if he chooses to take on other wives as long as he is financially capable of supporting multiple families.  Divorce is almost unheard of in the Muslim religion, as it is only granted under extreme circumstances.  I think it will be a long time before the women here manage to gain a strong enough voice to be treated with the respect they deserve.