The Wolof consists of a large ethnic group made up of a population of over four million people. A majority of these people reside in West African countries of Gambia and Senegal and in the recent time there has been migration to Mali and Cote d’ Ivoire .A large populating also lives in the United States (Gittens et al 78).Expansion of the French saw the interaction between the French and the Wolof people and many of them gained French citizenship and many live in France. Back in Africa there are elements of the French culture in the Wolof culture and this is shown in their social culture and villages (Gittens et al 111).The Wolof people are largely Muslim and there also exist class divisions in the society consisting of the free born, slaves and the lowest class being that of the artisans (Smith and Bonnie 67).The Wolof women are particularly very beautiful and are known to have a good fashion sense and also wear sophisticated hair styles. They have over the years acted as the fashion setters for the West African region. They still largely wear elegant dresses with accompanying head gear and even despite continued civilization most ladies have not embraced the wearing of pant or shorts especially when they are around the elders. The Wolof culture is largely influenced by the Islamic religion which is the dominant religion amongst the Wolof people and hence various aspects of their culture borrow largely from the Islamic religion. There exists major differences in the roles and values that the society prescribes for women and men. This paper will therefore seek to outline the major differences in the gender roles and values of women and men among the Wolof society.
In the traditional village set up the main roles of the women is to do the household chores that include childcare, cleaning and cooking. The men have traditionally been involved in the heavy outdoor activities of cultivation of millet and cotton (Gittens et al 123).With modernization though more men have tended to move out of the villages into the cities more women are taking up the managing of the forestry resources of the village and they are also involved in the operations of the rice and millet mills. The government has also increasingly put effort to get the women more involved in the economic activities by establishing a rural development agency (Smith and Bonnie 134).Through this agency the women have been involved in development activities such the health care committees in the villages and the child and mother care programs both before and after delivery. In the absence of the husbands the women have also to a great extent taken up the general management of the farms and the animals of the family. The social status of women in this society is that of dependence and second class to men. The men in the society who include the fathers, husbands, uncles and brothers all do have a right over the women and the money that the women are able to create. Most women do not own property of their own except gifts given to them as part of the dowry during the wedding. Traditionally for a long period of time it is largely the men that hold land title.
Marriage is preceded by negotiations and dowry payment that is usually done by the man to the bride. The bride then can decide to give her parents part of dowry and keep part of it as her wealth. The man has to shower the bride and her family with gifts before the wedding can proceed (Gittens et al 143).Women who are generally brought up not to be vulgar and always be careful about their behavior in the public get a chance to be fully expressive in wedding ceremonies. They sing the song Laabaan that provides an ambiguous forum for women to negotiate for social power. At these events they get a chance to break up from the norm and pass information that is sexually charged and this is in transgression of both the traditional codes and the Islamic requirement where good women do not use bad language. There also still exist a high premium for women to preserve their virginity until marriage yet the same is not required of the men (Smith and Bonnie 145) After marriage that are usually arranged the woman moves into the house of the man. Polygamy is widely practiced due to the influence of the Islamic religion on the culture of the Wolof people and hence most women have one or several co wives. Upon death of the husband the widow can be married by the brother of her deceased husband. Also once a man dies his sons receive a full share of his estate, the daughters receive half of what their brothers receive and the wives an eighth of what the male child receives. Generally the people tend to avoid eye contact with members of the opposite sex or a person that is superior to them in the society. When in public the men and women keep their distance (Gittens et al 164)
The child rearing and education practices are relatively similar in both sexes. From the age of five both children of the two sexes are tough good values such as respect for the elders by greeting the elders respectably and avoiding foul language, listening to wisdom from the elders among other good habits. The males greet by shaking hands and the young women do this by slightly bending on one knee as they greet the elders (Smith and Bonnie 176).The socialization of the girls however is majorly done by the female members of the family such as the older sisters and the mother that mainly teach the girl child household chores and other home caring activities, The male children are on the other side largely socialized by the male members of the society and are hence trained to carry out male jobs such as cultivation of the fields and taking care of the large livestock (Gittens et al 181 ).Once both sexes reach maturity they traditionally underwent circumcision to mark entrance into maturity. Up to date the males are circumcised while the females are less and less circumcised due to criminalization of female genital mutilation by the Senegalese government though it continues to be prevalent in some rural communities further hampering the education of the female child. Until the age of six children from both sexes attend Koranic school and from there they join the formal education system that is free up to the advanced levels.Howevor more males attend and complete the formal education compared to the female children. Illiteracy is still widely prevalent among the women
In terms of economic contribution and access to resource the men have an upper hand. Large tracks of land are owned by the male members of the society where they grow the main cash crop which is millet cotton and any other crop of their choice (Gittens et al 203 ).Females also are given access to land though their parcels are much smaller than that owned by the male members of the family. Very few women actually own the land that they till. In the farms the men are involved in weeding millet and harvesting the groundnuts while the women carry out the lighter tasks of heaping and winnowing of the produce (Smith and Bonnie 197).The large livestock such as cattle and camels are owned by the men in the society while women are allowed to keep small livestock such as chicken. Trade especially the type that involves travelling out of the home area is mainly done by the men. Most women do not engage in trade or do it to a smaller extent (Gittens et al 211).However it should be noted that modernization has to a great extend seen more women engage actively in economic activities by being engaged in gainful employment and even going out of the traditional practices to own large tracks of land and use it as a factor of production. There has been a lot of activation for economic empowerment of the women so as to change the general perception of the women as second class that is inherent in the Islam religion. Many Non-Government Organizations have put a lot of effort to open up for the women more economic opportunities through micro-financing loans (Smith and Bonnie 213).
Politically women have always had an influence in the politics of the day. In the ancient civilizations women from the noble families were very influential in the political scene. This was largely contributed by the fact matrilineage was the main means for a prince to becoming the king of the Wolof kingdoms. Currently with increased complain to eliminate all discrimination against women following the Senegalese government signing various protocols that eliminate forms of discrimination in the society more women have shown interest in competitive politics though due to years of cultural submission their success in political field is less compared to that of the male counterparts.
Works cited
Gittens, Angela D, Barbara Browning, André Lepecki, Deborah Kapchan, Ngugi W. Thiong'o, and Deborah Willis. Hands, Eyes, Butts and Thighs: Women's Labor, Sexuality, and Movement Technique from Senegal Through the Diaspora. , 2008. Print.
Smith, Bonnie G. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
