Infanticides, avortements... : Quand la loi condamne la femme et absout l'homme (par Awa Faye)
In Senegal, as elsewhere, women's rights are enshrined in international and constitutional texts of considerable scope. The State of Senegal ratified, without reservation, major instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1985, and the African Union's Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality. Our Constitution, in its Preamble, incorporates these treaties and, through Article 98, grants them an authority superior to that of laws. Legally, these solemn commitments should guarantee every woman protection against all forms of discrimination, including legislative discrimination, and ensure her dignity and her physical and moral integrity.
Yet, in reality, Senegalese law on reproductive health remains discriminatory. It forces a woman or girl who is a victim of rape or incest to continue an unwanted pregnancy, while no comparable provision obliges the man to legally acknowledge his paternity. This asymmetry constitutes further legal violence inflicted on already vulnerable victims. As lawyer Ndèye Madjiguéne Sarr, a member of the Task Force, an advocacy committee for safe abortion, points out, this situation leads to human tragedies, including maternal deaths, unsafe clandestine abortions, infanticide, and mass imprisonment of women. The official figures are chilling: 34,079 abortions were recorded in 2020. And this, she notes, is only "the tip of the iceberg."
But where does the man fit into all this? Where is the partner, the de facto accomplice, who, after contributing to the pregnancy, disappears, refuses any acknowledgment, and leaves the woman alone to face the law and social condemnation? In the vast majority of cases, he risks nothing. No prosecution for failure to assist a person in danger, no complicity in infanticide, no obligation to provide for the unborn child. A legal loophole?
Irresponsible, ungrateful, hypocritical—there's no shortage of labels for these men who, to satisfy their lust, engage in illicit relationships and then refuse to face the consequences. Yet, authoritative religious voices teach us that both Islam and Christianity consider the accomplice as guilty as the principal perpetrator. So why shouldn't the justice system do the same?
It is time for legislation to evolve to extend sanctions to men who, by refusing to acknowledge paternity, actively contribute to the isolation and distress of women. DNA testing could easily establish the biological truth and allow for effective accountability. Vigorous advocacy from human rights organizations, and particularly those defending women's rights, is more necessary than ever. The goal here is not to perpetuate the victimization of women, but to ensure respect for equality before the law, in accordance with Senegal's international commitments.
The time for complacency is over. Society and the justice system must stop placing the blame solely on the woman while systematically sparing the true perpetrator, her partner. Complicity in infanticide, failure to assist a person in danger, and denial of paternity are all acts that must be recognized and punished. Ultimately, the law cannot continue to protect the untouchable partner. Down with him, and let's have a justice system that is finally fair and in accordance with our constitutional and international commitments.
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