Mali

Niani Cunningham

A Once Rich Empire Turned to Hell on Earth for Women: How Colonialism and Civil War Played a Role

Mali is a modestly sized country in western Africa with a lot of current conflict, yet a very rich history. The Mali Empire was built around the city of “Niani” which was the leader, Sundiata’s, homeland and its capital city. The empire stretched from the Senegal River to the salt mines of Taghaza therefore making it extremely rich in natural resources. The kingdom had lots of farmland with beans, rice, millet, cotton, peanuts, and many other important crops. It also monopolized the gold trade by taxing gold and often using it as a form of currency. Mansa Musa, Sundiatas grandson, later became the empires king. A very efficient and wise leader, he created its government and divided the empire into provinces, each having their own governor, mayor, and a huge army for peace keeping.  Timbuktu was an important part of the empire because it consisted of many universities that scholars from Europe, the Middle East, and other parts of Africa came to learn and enjoy the rich markets. Islam spread quickly to the people of Mali. However, it was not forced upon anyone and many still practiced the ancient polytheistic faith that taught about “The spirits of the land.” Mansa Musa eventually died and around 1645 the decline of the empire followed. Many states then declared independence, which weakened the empire to its end.

During the late 19^th century Mali fell under the control of France and was labeled “French Sudan”. In 1959 French Sudan and Senegal banned together to rebel against France and labeled themselves “The Mali Federation.” Eventually, in 1960, Senegal withdrew and the federation became the independent Republic of Mali. They elected their own president and their government was modeled after socialism.  This government was over thrown due to steady economic decline, which had rebel groups fed up. Many pushed for a multi party democracy but the government was unwilling to fully give in. Civil unrest ensued and more conflict arose around 1990. Much of the violence was due to ethnic tension in the north following the return of Tuaregs to the nation. Tuaregs are a nomadic group whose ethnicity is a mixture of Arab, east, and West African. In 2012 greater conflict ensued in northern Mali over land. The Tuareg people want independence and control of an area known as Azawad. Essentially this is a conflict between the Malian army and rebel Islamic groups that include the Tuaregs, who want control over a certain part of the country.  As we know, war has a huge impact on basic standard of living especially for women.

Around 80 percent of Malians are followers of Islam. This permits men to have multiple wives and it is very common in Mali to have at least two. Each wife is responsible for household duties such as cooking and cleaning but are rarely just “housewives.” Many make an income doing things such as gardening and making crafts and food to sell. It is uncommon for women to wear a veil in Mali and many stick to the traditional West African garb.  According to The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, 84% of women in Mali are literate while only 67% of men are, but only 31% of women are enrolled in University. The New Family Code of Mali was drafted by the National Assembly in 2011 but has been delayed due to opposition from Muslim religious organizations.  This code was drafted to challenge the constitution and replace the old code. It was created by various women’s organizations and religious organizations by going out to Mali villages and cities to discuss issues facing women. There are disagreements around things such as female genital mutilation and marriage. “There are a number of articles that are issues of contention. Article 5 concerns the integrity of the human person. According to the Muslim religious organizations, this Article could be used to oppose Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). But while Type II (excision) is the most widespread form of FGM in Mali, according to Islam it is neither an obligation nor a requirement, but rather an optional act. Article 56 concerns the choice of domicile. According to the new Code, this choice could be based on the professions of either of the spouses. This constitutes a real advancement for women’s rights, because Article 34 of the old Code stipulated that the husband was the head of the family. As a result, the household expenses weighed mainly on him; the choice of the family residence was his; the wife was obliged to live with him and he was obliged to accommodate her. Due to this provision, many women therefore lost their job opportunities and income sources in order to follow their husbands. Article 281 relates to the secularism of marriage, which has been the main cause of contention within the Muslim religious organizations. In fact, 35% of women are dispossessed and chased out of the matrimonial home because they do not have a civil marriage certificate. Islamic marriage does not have a contract that serves as concrete proof of the marriage bond, which means that in the case of divorce or the death of their husbands, women face difficulties claiming their rights before the law. Article 282 sets the minimum age for marriage at 18 years for both women and men. Article 311 relates to the obligation of obedience of the wife, which has been replaced in the code by mutual respect. Articles 556 to 573 relate to the authority of the father which has been replaced by parental authority. The controversial Articles therefore concern issues which women’s rights activists are working on in order to improve the daily lives of women and to promote their fundamental human rights. This new Family Code is a true effort to harmonize Mali’s national laws and align them with international laws on women’s rights and the rights of the child; such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDEW), ratified by Mali in 1985, the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women, ratified by Mali in 2005, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” This code shows that there are in fact people making efforts to better the lives of women in Mali. Because of the control that Islamic culture has over the country, it may be challenge to put these rights into action.

        Another problem faced by women in this country is the quality of reproductive health. An overwhelming majority of women in Mali give birth at home, which contributes to its high rates of infant and maternal mortality as well as complications such as fistula (“A fistula is a hole. An obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in many developing countries is a hole between a woman's birth passage and one or more of her internal organs. This hole develops over many days of obstructed labor, when the pressure of the baby's head against the mother's pelvis cuts off blood supply to delicate tissues in the region. The dead tissue falls away and the woman is left with a hole between her vagina and her bladder (called a vesicovaginal fistula or VVF) and sometimes between her vagina and rectum (rectovaginal fistula, RVF). This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces. A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their inability to have children and their foul smell. Traumatic fistula is the result of sexual violence.  The injury can occur through rape or women being butchered from the inside with bayonets, wood or even rifles.  The aim is to destroy the women and the community within which the sufferer lives. Once committed the survivor, her husband, children and extended family become traumatized and humiliated…”). Studies show that the more education a woman has, the more likely she is to deliver in a hospital but a very low percentage of women actually receive education in Mali (as stated early in the essay).

As stated earlier, war has a massive affect on the quality of life for people of that specific country. French colonialism had a massive impact as well and they are still involved with the country to this day. One of France’s main energy sources is Uranium and Mali is coincidentally rich in the element.  Many believe that France’s involvement in the conflict is “nothing less than the neocolonial re-conquest of its former colony in the strategically important West African region. “ In Mali, the war over land puts a lot of Islamic rebel groups in power, which creates a tough place to be a woman. Most of the problems women face in this country are due to lack of education and education is sparse for everyone because of Mali’s extreme poverty and civil unrest. If women in this country had access to education, they would, statistically speaking, get married later on in life, have less children, and generally be less likely to die in child birth-Their quality of life would improve.

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