Mbaraan and the shifting political economy of sex in urban Senegal

Abstract

This paper examines transactional sex in Dakar as a window into broader processes of social and economic change in urban Senegal. Patterns of heterosexual behaviour in Senegal's capital (late and increasing age at first marriage for women, a relatively high divorce rate and a rise in transactional sex) reflect a confluence of socioeconomic forces that curtail some forms of heterosexual union and facilitate others. Our analysis focuses on the rise of mbaraan, a practice in which single, married and divorced women have multiple male partners. We argue that while mbaraan is in part an expression of women's agency and a transgression of dominant gender norms, it also reflects women's social and economic subordination and their inability to achieve self-sufficiency independent of men's financial support. We suggest that this urban phenomenon is the outcome of contradictory opportunities and constraints that women face as they grapple with material insecurity and marital disappointments.

Keywords:

• divorce
• marriage
• transactional sex
• mbaraan
• Senegal

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank our research assistants: Ami Diallo, Ndeye Kebe, Marie-Claude Gueye, Rama Ndao and Abdoulaye Thiombane and also the women who participated in the research. Thanks to Daouda Diouf, Director of ENDA-Santé, who provided financial support for the research.

Notes

^1. We are not placing a positive or negative value on mbaraan, rather acknowledging that most women who mbaraan state that they would prefer to pursue other strategies.

^2. As one of many examples, see Niasse (2012) for a recent online news story on mbaraan.

^3. All names are pseudonyms.