Democracy and Development in Mali

Women in Francophone West Africa in the 1930s: Unraveling a Neglected Report

Women in Francophone West Africa in the 1930s: Unraveling a Neglected Report GHISLAINE LYDON On 7 October 1937, Marcel Jules de Coppet, the governor-general of French West Africa (AOF),l delegated an important assignment to a conseillere technique de l'enseignement, Denise Moran Savineau. She was to head a mission d'enquete2 in AOF on ula condition de la femme et de la famille, dans les ecoles, l'emploi, etc.,,3 That French administrators felt it necessary to finance a special inquiry for the sole purpose of gathering data on African women in the colonies was rather avant-garde. Furthermore, this project seems to have assumed a high-priority nature judging from the correspondence exchanged prior to and during Denise Moran's eight-month-Iong fieldwork. M. de Coppet took this project seriously and, in a circular addressed to all governors in AOF, he said: Madame Savineau ... devra jouir d'une grande liberte de mouvement. ... 1'attache une grande importance aux conclusions de cette enquete, qui devra etre minutieuse, etje vous serais reconnaissant d'assurer II Madame Savineau Ie concours Ie plus large de la part des commandants de postes, du personnel enseignant et medical, des magistrats, des indigenes qualifies et notamment des interpretes, qui devront etre soigneusement choisis.4 Yet what incentives drove the governor-general to sponsor such noteworthy research? Possible explanations can be inferred by placing this event in its historical context. West Africa in the Great Depression Throughout the 1930s, the Great Depression had detrimental repercussions in Africa. The period was characterized by an overall reduction in colonial economic activity linked to a drop in cash-crop prices and exports which led to 61 62 GHISLAINE LYDON increased unemployment and underemployment.5 Although colonial enterprises were first hit, the Depression quickly precipitated local economies into decline. For Africans, an extreme scarcity of resources and cash was all the more debilitating with colonial taxation. In fact, taxes continued to rise in Francophone Africa throughout the 1930s, even in the worst years. As Catherine CoqueryVidrovitch explains, "En Afrique noire, Ie contraste est frappant de la compensation budgetaire effectuee grace a l'imposition indigene, qui continua de progresser en pleine crise, et dont Ie plafond coincide precisement au moment ou les cours, au plus bas, entrainaient la remuneration paysanne la plus faible, c'est-a-dire au moment ou Ie producteur etait Ie moins a meme d'affronter la charge."6 According to Patrick Manning's calculations, 1934 export prices fell to 20 percent of their 1927 level, yet government revenues were only cut in half "which meant that effective tax rates more than doubled."7 During the 1930s, poverty reached unsurpassed levels and people resorted to multifarious means of acquiring cash in order to meet tax duties as well as basic needs. As usual, money lenders provided their services, and to pay back loans many people reverted to pawning or pledging family members as securities for loans. Pawning of women and girls in particular was still practiced in the late 1930s when Moran was compiling her reports. That the colonial administration was concerned about the increased activity of pawning and such practices could perhaps account for the decision to launch a large-scale study of the condition of women and families in French West Africa. European Concern for African Women Colonial officials were familiar with the concerns of missionaries who adopted women's tribulations as a strategic theme. Evidence from the early 1930s indicates that French missionaries of the Compagnie du Saint-Esprit were actively embracing the cause of African women.8 For the archbishop, Monseigneur A. Le Roy, the condition of indigenous women became a cardinal preoccupation. Family matters-namely, betrothal, polygamy, and inheritance rights-were among the prime targets. In May 1936, Monseigneur Le Roy produced a tenpage booklet entitled Pour Ie relevement social de la femme en Afrique franfaise in which the inferior status of African women was discussed and measures to redress it were stipulated.9 Such preoccupations gave missionaries a perfectly humanitarian excuse to proselytize among African women, who were identified as vehicles for transmitting Christian beliefs and behavior. In 1933, the vicar of Ouagadougou wrote to the governor-general of AOF to report his concerns about the incidence of female slavery and marriage WOMEN IN FRANCOPHONE WEST AFRICA IN THE 1930s 63 transactions. lO Missionaries' efforts to "relieve women" of oppressive indigenous practices probably influenced colonial matters. In fact...