When Men Become Women: Parody and Satire in Khady Touré's Film Échange Inégal: Goor Dongue

ABSTRACT

In contemporary Senegal, gender violence is pervasive, and it has become challenging to speak about it. Female suffering is normalized and viewed as part of womanhood. Language and Islam are often manipulated to justify the oppression of women. Échange Inégal: Goor Dongue, a short film directed by Khady Touré, uses parody to reverse gender roles in Senegal and profiles a society where girls are the preferred gender and where women are polyandrous and occupy all positions of power at home and in public. This inversion disrupts gender norms and transfers gender-based suffering from bodies associated with subordination (women) to bodies associated with dominance (men). This article argues that the film uses parody to make female suffering legible on male bodies to criticize the current gender inequalities in Senegal. The patriarchal manipulations of language and religion are central to the analysis.

ABSTRACT IN WOLOF

Tey, ci Senegaal, ag metital ci diggante góor ak jigéen pexem yàq la fi ba tax na ku ciy wax dugg nga ci ag jaayante gu tar. Toroxal jigéen dem na ba doon lu ñu yoonal toftal ko ci ponki néegu sëy. Ñu jël làkk wi ak diine ji di ko sopparñi ngir dëggal ni metital jigéen lu jaadu la. Échange Inégal: Goor Dongue nag ab filmu bu gàtt bu ñu def ci njiitalu Xady Ture, juyatle ci wareefi góor ak yu jigéen ci mboolaayu Senegal, yëkkati ci jigéen, def ko boroom kër mu yore ay jëkkër yuy wujje, nga gis jigéen féete kaw di jiite ci biir kër gi ak ci njémmeer li. Juuyatley dayo yooyii nag ñoo jël naqar ak coono yi ñu daan teg ci jëmmi aji-toppe ji (jigéen) sëf ko ki ñuy xoole aji-jiite (góor). Kayitu nàngat lii nag mbind la mu ñu yaxal ci jëmmi góor ngir ñaawlu ñàkk a yamale góor ak jigéen gi ci Senegaal. Ni góor ñiy sopparñee làkk wi ak diine ji ngir wut uw lay mooy li gën a fés ci njàngat li.

KEYWORDS:

• Senegal
• Parody
• Women
• gender
• marriage
• Islam

WAAT YI FÉS:

• Senegaal
• Juuyatle
• Filmu
• Jigéen
• Yamale Góor ak Jigéen
• Sëy
• Metital Jigéen
• Islaam

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Le Grand Saut, https://www.legrandsaut.fr/qui-sommes-nous/khady-toure-hervieu.

2 Email exchange with Khady Touré Hervieu, 9 January 2020.

3 “Décès de Falla Paye et ses 3 enfants, Oustaz Modou Fall trés en colère et tire sur les filles,” Senbuzz TV, 10 November 2021.

4 Taken from the 2005 Oxford University Press edition translated by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem.

5 “Présentations des statistiques de la boutique de droit de Pikine du 3 décembre 2013 à décembre 2017,” Association des Juristes du Senegal (AJS), 2017. Accessed June 1, 2022. http://femmesjuristes.org/?page_id=422.