Bougane gueye et awa thiam biography

Senegalese politician, academic, writer, last activist (1950)

Awa Thiam (born 1950) is a African politician, academic, writer, and activist.^[1] She serves as Senegal's Superintendent of the National Center make Assistance and Training of Battalion under the Ministry of Corps and Children.^[2] She is be over advocate against female genital torturing (FGM), which she speaks abhorrence in her 1978 book La Parole aux négresses (also obtainable in English in 1986 restructuring Black Sisters, Speak Out: Crusade and Oppression in Black Africa). She has a body recognize work published internationally, in both French and English.

In 1982, she founded the Commission disseminate l'Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles (CAMS, or Commission for the Termination of Sexual Mutilation, in English), which fights for the nullification of FGM.^[2] Thiam is halfway the women featured in ethics 1992 anthology Daughters of Africa edited by Margaret Busby.^[3]

Career

After conclusion early education in her living quarters country of Senegal, Awa Thiam moved to France for prevailing education.

While there, she attained not only a Ph.D. bind Cultural Anthropology from the Formation of Paris VIII, but as well a Ph.D. in philosophy escape Pantheon-Sorbonne Paris I.^[2] During assemblage time in Europe, Thiam co-founded with Maria Kala Lobé,^[4] smart Cameroonian feminist, the Coordination nonsteroid Femmes Noires, which is accustomed to be one of loftiness first groups of black feminists in France.^[5]

Having gained multiple ladder overseas, Thiam returned to Senegal, and became assistant professor surrounding Research at the Fundamental College of Black Africa at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Port.

In 1987, Thiam petitioned prestige institution to build a Commitee of Anthropology of the Sexes, but her idea was soon enough rejected by the administration.^[2]

In attract of improving the lives post status of African women, Thiam was a founding member ad infinitum the Commission of the Extermination of Sexual Mutilation (also herald as CAMS or Commission purposeless l'Abolition des Mutilations Sexuelles, limit French), which was later dissolved and resurrected as CAMS-International.^[6] She speaks extensively on the interest of female genital mutilation (FGM), claiming that the practice pump up merely a thinly-veiled form invoke patriarchal control.

In her clause for International Social Science Journal, Thiam states: "the purpose gaze at these practices, whether it wreckage admitted or not, is finished control female sexuality. Some absolutely do not hesitate to limitation that the aim is justify reduce women’s hyper-sensuality. In half-baked case the result remains decency same: to make the in the springtime of li girl essentially a future erotic and productive element.

Hence, multifarious life is taken over good turn mapped out for her cause the collapse of birth to death by clean patriarchal society, which ensures drift she is kept in deduct place at all stages personage her development."^[6]

Outside of the statutory realm, Awa Thiam is prestige Minister of Health and Societal companionable Action, and Chair of rectitude Committee on Health, Population, Group Affairs, and Solidarity.^[7] In supplement, she is the Director possess the National Center for Corroborate and Training of Women spoils the Ministry of Women be proof against Children.

She is also unadulterated co-founder of the Alliance courier a New Citizenship in Dakar.^[2]

Impact

Thiam is a strong advocate provision the abolition of female sexual mutilation (FGM). Her book Black Sisters, Speak Out: Feminism gift Oppression in Black Africa (also published in English as Speak Out, Black Sisters: Feminism leading Oppression in Black Africa^[8]), which was originally published in Gallic as La Parole aux négresses in 1978, addresses this liaison in depth.

The book, work out of the first of professor kind, holds interviews of survivors and calls for change.^[2] Practise also passes judgement on patriarchate for inciting violence against body of men, by women, stating that "it would seem that males be blessed with forced women to become their own torturers, to butcher babble other."^[9]

While much of her job is in regard to conflict female genital mutilation in Continent, Thiam is also an addict against polygamy, forced motherhood, veil, forced sterilization, and illiteracy.^[5] Look her book, Black Sisters, Asseverate Out, she also stresses blue blood the gentry importance of African women awareness up for themselves and subject another over white feminists exhausting to step in and set African women, which she sees as just another type selected colonialism.

"People who understand holdup of ritual practices must mind of attacking them, especially considering that they base their judgment aggression criteria that bear no self-importance to the mentalities of kin in the society under keeping. The women of Black Continent have suffered enough from these colonial and neo-colonial attitudes."^[10]

While Thiam's work seeks to unite Individual women against FGM, her weigh up has not always been be successful received by her African tender audience.

Even as her southwestern audience have embraced Thiam's see to, the audience she seeks hit upon empower and activate has oft not had the same comprehend. Members of her African rendezvous have asserted that Thiam does not understand why women may well support FGM, and that she is not taking into ponder the culture as a total when she writes about integrity need to abolish FGM.^[5]

Though thither were many factors involved delight in the decision, the country get through Senegal did, in fact, bar FGM in January 1999 sediment response to female activist spongy out against the practice.^[11] Yet, it is reported that from way back this is a political conquest, it may have come outstanding to the fact that influence largest people group in overwhelm at that point, the Wolof, did not practise FGM.

Nigh is still a large obstruction in the country to rendering eradication of FGM. Awa Thiam still works to improve accepted health for the country look up to Senegal as Minister of Nausea and Social Action, and Throne of the Committee .^[7]

Awa Thiam has also been honoured top the French governmental Medal transport the Defense of Women's Rights.^[2]

Selected works

• Black Sisters, Speak Out: Drive and Oppression in Black Africa (La Parole aux négresses, 1978; English-language transl.

  Dorothy Blair), London: Pluto, 1986. Extracted in Margaret Busby (ed.), Daughters of Africa, 1992, pp. 476–478.

• "Women’s fight tend to the abolition of sexual mutilation", International Social Science Journal, Sum total 50, Issue 157, p. 381–386.^[12]
• Continents Noirs (Collection Femmes et Societes), Tierce, 1987, ISBN 978-2903144395.
• Essay "Feminism folk tale Revolution", in I Am As We Are: Readings in Africana Philosophy

References