Working with legal pluralism: widowhood, property inheritance, and poverty alleviation in urban Senegal

Abstract

This article explores the role of women's inheritance and ownership of property in urban Senegal. It shows how being able to inherit and own property promotes the economic and emotional security of widows and their children in urban areas, and discusses the challenges posed by legal pluralism in working on poverty alleviation and social protection in the city.

Cet article examine le rôle de l'héritage et de la propriété de biens par les femmes dans les zones urbaines du Sénégal. Il montre comment le fait d’être en mesure d'hériter et de posséder des biens favorise la sécurité économique et affective des veuves et de leurs enfants en milieu urbain, et traite des défis posés par le pluralisme juridique au moment d’œuvrer à la réduction de la pauvreté et à la protection juridique dans la ville.

El presente artículo examina el papel desempeñado por la posibilidad de que las mujeres reciban herencias y sean propietarias de bienes en las áreas urbanas de Senegal. Asimismo, analiza en qué medida dicha posibilidad promueve la seguridad económica y emocional de las viudas y sus hijos en dichas áreas urbanas. Por otra parte, el artículo revisa los retos que representa el pluralismo legal en el ámbito del trabajo orientado a reducir la pobreza y a promover la protección social en las ciudades.

Key words:

• property rights
• inheritance practices
• legal pluralism
• widows
• social protection
• Senegal

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank all the family members, religious and community leaders, and professionals who so willingly shared their experiences and views. I am very grateful to Baba Sarr, Fatou Kébé, Prosper Diene Faye, and Laurie Marie for their research and translation assistance and to Khady Sarr, Yacine Diagne, Prof. Abdou Salam Fall, and Ian Hopwood for facilitating access to participants.

Notes

1 The research was funded by the University of Reading and Walker Institute for Climate System Research. Ethical approval for the research was granted by the University of Reading Research Ethics Committee in 2011 and 2012.

2 Women in Dakar have a relatively low fertility rate (3.7 children per woman) compared to the national rate (5.1 children per woman) and urban areas in general (4.1 children per woman) (ANSD 2014, 169). While women in urban areas in Senegal (and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa and globally) generally have fewer children than those living in rural areas, poor women living in cities have limited access to reproductive health care and unmet contraception needs. Indeed, UNFPA (2007, 23) suggests that at times the reproductive health situation of poor women in cities more closely resembles that of rural women and poverty may be a better indicator of fertility patterns than rural or urban residence.

3 Environmental pressures in rural and urban areas are likely to be exacerbated by climate change in future (Toulmin 2009). Dakar and other coastal cities and settlements of West Africa will be highly vulnerable to the impacts of projected sea-level rise, leading to great losses of coastal land by erosion and submergence, alongside increased salinisation (UN-Habitat 2014).

4 Internal migrants are defined by ANSD (2014, 222) as those whose place of origin and place of destination are located within the country's territory.

5 The Serer adopted Islam and Catholicism during the 20th century, later than most other ethnic groups in Senegal (Bass and Sow 2006). Traditionally, the Serer observe aspects of both patrilineal and matrilineal inheritance systems for the transfer of wealth, values, and knowledge between generations. Serer customary practices regarded women as having little claim to land ownership, and the family home was not usually divided, but was inherited by brothers and sons of the deceased (Evans forthcoming). Polygamy is slightly less common among the Serer than other ethnic groups in Senegal (Bass and Sow 2006).

6 The vast majority of the population (94 per cent) are Muslim, while a minority are Christian (4 per cent) and animists and other religions (2 per cent) (ANSD 2013b, 2). These families were identified with the help of NGO staff and key contacts in each community, either directly or using snowballing (that is, following up suggestions from initial contacts to talk to others whom they knew).

7 These included UNICEF, NGOs, and community-based organisations [including Association of Senegalese Women Lawyers (Association des Juristes Sénégalaises – AJS), Plan International, Synergy for Childhood (Synergie pour L'enfance), Association of Women of Médina, Dakar (AFEME), Association for the Promotion of Senegalese Women (APROFES)] and representatives of the Ministry of the Family and Ministry of the Economy and Finance.