ファーストレディーが２人 一夫多妻制のセネガル

【ダカール（セネガル）ＡＦＰ＝時事】セネガル大統領選で勝利したバシル・ジョマイ・ファイ氏（４４）は選挙運動の終盤、２人の妻を伴って活動した。（写真は、セネガル大統領選で投票を終えたバシル・ジョマイ・ファイ氏〈中央〉と第１夫人のマリー・コーネ氏〈右〉、第２夫人のアブサ氏。セネガル中西部で）
　一夫多妻制は、イスラム教徒が圧倒的多数を占めるセネガルで、伝統的かつ宗教的な慣習として文化に根付いている。しかし、国政の場で指導者が自身の一夫多妻を積極的に明らかにした前例はなく、一夫多妻制に関する透明性を目指す改革を公約に掲げたファイ氏の明確な意思表示でもあった。
　これまで脚光を浴びることのなかった第１夫人のマリー・コーネ氏は、ファイ氏と同じ村の出身。１５年前に結婚し、４人の子どもがいる。ファイ氏が第２夫人のアブサ氏を迎えたのは１年余り前だ。
　社会学者のジビー・ディアカテ氏は、「国家元首が一夫多妻制の伝統をついに認めた表れであり、セネガルの現実を反映するような状況だ」と指摘。
　一方で、多くの男性は一夫多妻制を称賛しているが、女性は「不信感」を抱く傾向があるとも説明した。
　セネガルでは多くの場合、婚姻登録が行われていないため、一夫多妻の実態を把握するのは難しい。
　だが、人口統計局の２０１３年の報告書によると、一夫多妻の割合は既婚者の３２．５％に上った。一夫多妻を実践した平均年齢は女性で４０．４歳、男性では５２．９歳とされている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/04/05-17:59）

In the closing moments of the electoral campaign, Senegal's president-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye stepped onto the stage holding the hands of both his wives Marie and Absa.
It was an unprecedented sight in the national politics of the West African country and a clear choice by the first-round winner who promises radical change.
Polygamy is a traditional and religious practice firmly anchored in the culture of Senegal where the overwhelming majority is Muslim.
Marie Khone, who until now had never been in the spotlight, comes from the same village as 44-year-old Faye. They married 15 years ago and have four children.
He married his second wife Absa just over a year ago.
It's the ultimate recognition of the tradition of polygamy at the top of the state, with a situation that will reflect Senegalese reality, sociologist Djiby Diakhate said.
Many men praise the practice while women tend to remain mistrustful, he added.
Polygamy has long stirred controversy and the public appearance by BDF, as he is known, with his two wives at his side cheered on by thousands of his supporters has made it a top talking point in the media, online and at home, sparking diverse reaction.
Being a second wife suits me better than being a first, well-known singer Mia Guisse said proudly in a video that recently went viral.
Reputed sociologist Fatou Sow Sarr said on X, formerly Twitter, that polygamy, monogamy, polyandry are matrimonial models determined by the history of every nation.
These models are now in competition with homosexual marriage, he added, in a country where homosexuality is punishable by between one and five years in jail.
I really think that the West has no legitimacy to judge our cultures, Sarr added in a follow-up message on X.
Nevertheless, many Senegalese women say they find polygamy hypocritical and unfair, while the UN Human Rights Committee said in a 2022 report that it amounted to discrimination against women and should be ended.
- 'Totally new' situation -
In her 1979 novel So Long a Letter, Senegalese author Mariama Ba was fiercely critical of polygamy, depicting the pain and loneliness of a woman after her husband took a second, younger wife.
Many popular TV series in recent years, like Mistress of a Married Man or Polygamy, have explored the ups and downs of family life in polygamous households.
Former culture minister and history professor Penda Mbow said the matrimonial situation at the presidential palace now is totally new.
Until now, there was only one First Lady. This means the entire protocol must be reviewed, he added.
Polygamy is widespread in Senegal particularly in rural areas and is considered a way of widening one's family.
Islam permits men to take up to four wives providing they have the financial means. In such a case, it calls for equal, alternating time spent with the wives, of between two and three days.
- 'Strong signal' -
Many marriages are not registered in Senegal, making it difficult to say exactly how many are polygamous.
But according to a 2013 report by the national statistics and demographics agency, 32.5 percent of married Senegalese people were in a polygamous union.
The average age of the women at the time of their marriage was 40.4 years old and 52.9 for men, the report said.
Diakhate, the sociologist, said Faye had sent a strong signal so that other men also accept their polgygamy and so that they demonstrate transparency like him.
He said there was undoubtedly a will to end hidden polygamy -- known in the Wolof language as Takou Souf -- which he added would be a good thing for the economy of the country and for the matrimonial situation.
In response to detractors, the incoming president, who won 54.28 percent in the March 24 vote, shows nothing but pride in his family situation.
I have beautiful children because I have wonderful wives. They are very beautiful. I give thanks to God they are always fully behind me, he said during the presidential race.