Miriama

Miriama, our host, doesn’t seem like a happy person. She’s big even for a Senegalese woman, and she doesn’t laugh and smile as openly as the other women. In her 50’s, she’s president of the local women’s group and is said to do a good job. She’s known as the “mother of Mbamb.” She says that sometimes men have to be with other women to realize what they already have. That’s what happened in her case. A few years ago, her husband married a younger woman. A year later, he lost his job. His younger wife left him, while Miriama stayed through the hardship. Now he knows what he’s had all along. Miriama criticized women who change their clothes and make-up to try and compete with a younger wife. They make fools out of themselves, and it never works. She also told us that a woman can’t show any disapproval of her husband if she has children. If she acts angry or hurt, then her kids will take sides and the family will fall apart. [Side note: Don’t you think it’s interesting that people in the US use this same silly reason to stay in bad marriages?] It’s better just not to say anything. Miriama feels like she’s maintained her honor and dignity by doing the best she can as a mother and wife.