In many Sub-Saharan countries, the traditional roles of men and women were distinct, but not in a hierarchical sense. Both women and men had political prowess and say over certain things. Influences of European culture introduced by the slave trade and later colonization, negatively effected women's power and autonomy within a community.
Colonization had physical and psychological implications on both European and African people. In the countries that France colonized, local governments, education, and familial dynamics were all made to model French culture. While this was destructive and unethical, the introduction of French education exposed many girls and women to the western education system. Mariama Bâ, a prolific Senegalese writer, was very grateful for her education and felt that her knowledge of the French language liberated her from the oppressive aspects of her community. Education has the ability to empower women and enable them to make autonomous choices. Staunch assimilation to French culture and the forced rejection of local customs is demoralizing, so by the time the countries colonized by France gained independence, a strong resentment toward the French manifested among many African people. The resulting demonization of the French education system jeopardizes many women's access to education and therefore ability to make informed decisions.
My presentation focuses on the combined effects of colonization and tradition on women in modern day Sub-Saharan Africa. Child marriage, polygamy, female genital mutilation, access to education, and lack of financial independence are all issues that must be addressed in modern day Africa. My goal is to contextualize illegal emigration of Sub-Saharan African women to France and explore ways to combat the need to emigrate. The path to immigration is perilous and should not be the only option for women in desperate situations, so economic investment in women in local communities should be considered.