What is surprising is that Mrs. Faouzia Zouari seems to be more “REVULSED” by the sight of a head of state with his two wives than by polygamy itself. “Never seen before, such a scene in contemporary political space,” she says. Does she not know that Muslims are polygamous? Or, for her it’s more like “hide this 2nd wife from me that I won’t be able to see.”
For an intellectual renowned for being a defender of women’s rights, this is a very curious position. Because Ms. Zouari seems to recommend that apart from the first, that the other wives must remain in the closets, without marital recognition and the rights it confers.
May they and their children suffer in silence, as was the case of Anne Pingeot and her daughter Mazarine Pingeot who were respectively the second wife and daughter of one of the great presidents of contemporary France (1981 – 1995). ), the late president, François Mitterand (1916-1996).
For 35 years, PINGEOT mother and daughter lived in the shadows, without official recognition, contenting themselves with what Mr. President could offer them in terms of time and privileges. If Madame Pingeot walled herself in silence throughout her life as a “Second” (1961-1996), her daughter Mazarine born in December 1974 will use writing to escape from this Omerta.
According to Laurent Valdiguié who led an investigation and produced a report entitled “Anne PINGEOT, the clandestine”, one of the members of the Mitterrand family confided to him that: “At home, everyone knew, but no one ever talked about it” (https://www.lejdd.fr/Politique/anne-pingeot-la-maman-de-mazarine-et-l-amoureuse-de-Mitterrand-252897-3107366).
In her book “Bouche cousue” published in 2005 (Édition Julliard), Mazarine recounts the frustrations, the suffering, the tears of her mother, but also her own existential quest and reconstruction of identity. Note that her father did not recognize her until she was 10 years old, on January 25, 1984.
Also, in accordance with her will, she and her mother will still have the right to attend the funeral of President Mitterand alongside his first wife, Mrs. Danielle Mitterand and her half-brothers, Jean-Christophe, and Gilbert Mitterand, their elder by 3 and 6 years respectively.
Is this the fate that Ms. Zouari wants to be reserved for the second wife of the Senegalese president, that is to say to live in the shadows, in suffering and without any rights?
Mrs. FF, Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Faye decided otherwise, taking full responsibility. Given that he has two wives, if he had presented himself with just one, wouldn’t he have shown opacity? He chose transparency. At the same time, he complies with the recommendations of his religion, Islam, which limits the number of wives to a maximum of four, putting an end to anti-Islamic harems (10 to 300 wives and more).
Indeed, in Surah An-Nisa, verse 3 on “Women”, God said to men: “It is permissible to marry two, three or four, among the women you like. But, if you are afraid of not being fair with these, then only one,…”.
This is why the President of Senegal gave the right to each of his two wives to be present at his side on this historic day of his inauguration. In fact, he even innovated. We can only congratulate him. And, second, third and fourth wives should now “come out of the closets” and take their place as full wives. Because each of them is a first lady of the Nation.
As Ms. Zouari tells you so well, the President of the Republic of Senegal did what “no Arab or African president had dared…” He also dared what no French monarch had dared to do. We know that among these, alongside the Queen, there were several companions called “favorites”. Some lived under the same roof as their co-wives and had legitimized children. The case of Louis XIV (1638-1715) known as the “Sun King” is a highly significant example of this French polygamous practice.
Of course, I am not for polygamy, but I respect the freedom of choice of women who opt for polygamy. Madame Zouari had to do the same. Because what she affirms is that “polygamy is never a choice for women, but a constraint;” is wrong.
Polygamy is not always a constraint. Many women, including Europeans and North Americans that I have personally known, have had to opt for polygamy.
This is also the case of the second wife of the President of Senegal, Mrs. Absa Faye. She was not married against her will. She is an adult, modern and highly educated woman. It was therefore with full knowledge of the facts that she opted for a polygamous marriage.
And, believe me, it is a love marriage between him and President Faye ( https://actuguinee.org/mme-absa-faye-et-diomaye-faye-voici-lhistoire-dun-professeur-et -de-son-etudiante/), just as was the case between Madame Anne Pingeot and the President of France, François Mitterand. Their difference is that the first is official and in the light while the second was in the shadows for thirty and five (35) years.
Besides, has Ms. Zouari thought about the women who share their entire lives, their husband with a multitude of his mistresses? Isn’t this a form of disordered polygamy? Do you measure their degree of suffering or even their distress? Does this situation not generate as much, if not more, “suffering, injustice and family tensions” as official polygamy?
Let us think of the suffering of Mrs. Danielle Mitterand facing the official mistress of her presidential husband? Her case is that of several women, some of whom in Europe end up committing suicide.
In her article, Ms. Faouzi showed herself to be disrespectful in many respects. In addition to the President of Senegal, women in polygamous marriages of whom she speaks in terms of being “exhibited”, she goes so far as to condemn Senegal and its people, who she says: “… displays such a retrograde symbol and formalizes , at the top of the State, an inherently unequal practice. What does she call “modernist and democratic tradition”?
Is this blindly walking in the shoes of French Culture and “Democracy”? It is true that the Senegalese are much less culturally alienated than the Tunisians. Furthermore, out of restraint and respect for the Other, the Senegalese, like other Africans, would not allow themselves to say what “revulses” them in the French government.
So, Ms. FF, a little respect, please!
Very unfortunately, although African, Ms. Faouzi Zouari analyzes polygamy in the light of a Western vision which ignores the social realities of peoples, their faith, denies their cultural sovereignty and their freedom of choice; thus setting herself up as always as a lesson giver. But this no longer happens in our time. Unless her motto is, “speak well of me or speak badly of me, but talk about me”, the Franco-Tunisian, Faouzi Zouari should show more restraint and rigor, better document herself, test the relevance of his points of view before delivering to the eyes of the world the results of his analyzes in media as prestigious as Jeune Afrique.
Dr. Aoua Bocar LY-Tall
Sociologist/Analyst, Researcher, Writer & International Speaker
Associate researcher at I.É.F., University of Ottawa, CANADA
Socio-Historiographer, member of the COPIL of the General History of SENEGAL
Email: [email protected]
