Dakar – Senegalese President Macky Sall has sacked a senior official who on International Women’s Day criticised as “nonsense” local traditions about the treatment of women remarks that were perceived as attacking Islamic principles.
The president removed Papa Amadou Sarr from his ministerial-ranking post as general delegate at an organisation called the Fast-track Entrepreneurship for Women and Young People (DER-FJ), a government statement released on Wednesday night said.
No reason was given in the statement, but local media said he was fired for remarks he made on Tuesday to mark International Women’s Day.
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Sarr spoke in front of cameras at a gathering of men and women and his words sparked a backlash on social media.
He said he could not understand how in 21st century Senegal “people can still come out with such nonsense as ‘no, a woman cannot shake hands with a holy man, with an old man and she cannot be in the same room’.
Sarr admitted he was being “provocative” and went on to list “other “incongruities” facing women in Senegal, which included being unable to work or being paid less than a man with the same qualifications.
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He also raised the case of a menstruating woman not being allowed inside a mosque “when the same ‘unclean’ woman cooks your food and shares your bed at night”.
The comments were interpreted as an attack on Islamic precepts in a 95% Muslim nation.
Senegalese society has a tolerant reputation, but tradition and religion remain sensitive topics.
The DER-FJ helps to fund and support business start-ups for young people and women.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter / @Macky_Sall
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