The Worker Bees Hierarchy

Young girls tend to do all the housechores around the house from sunrise to sunset. Children as young as 8 years old help wash clothes or take care of their younger siblings. In my house, my youngest cousin (14yrs) does all the housework and my older sibling cooks. There is a lot of emphasis on age in Senegal: younger children must respect their elders. Gender roles vary greatly by ethnic group and location (i.e. city vs. village, North vs. South)

Typically, these girls are not empowered to get an education. And if they do go to school, they usually drop out in primary school due to the financial strains on their families. They will mostly resort to do housechores and help around the house. In most Senegalese households, mothers will discourage young girls not to learn. One incident was when I was helping my younger sister count, and one of the older boys in the house said to me she is crazy. She is very smart but most young girls are not taught to reach their highest potential.

Although men and women socialize at events, their roles are pretty set. Women do the housechores and men sit around the house. I always make sure to tell the women in my compound how delicious the food is because they do not get many compliments for the hard work they do. Women talk mostly with other women of the neighborhood. The conversations between men and women are very brief. I have also noticed that women have the freedom to talk about whatever they want.  Men usually talk about sports.