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Bababe Girls' Conference
In celebratin of International Women's Day, Bababe held a girls' conference in which we invited 30 girls from Boghe and 45 girls from Bababe to participate in an array of discussions, classes, and soccer matches. Starting on March 6th and contiuing through the evening of the 8th, the girls and the entire town of Bababe were witness to a great celebration of women in Mauritania.Our weekend began with the arrival of the Boghe girls. They all stayed in a house in town and the Bababe girls greeted them with music and snacks. The first session was held at the mayor's office coumpound and consisted of five women from Boghe and Bababe talking about their careers, education, family life, and future plans. Girls from the entire village were invited to this session and over 400 people came out. Earlier we had designated youth speakers from each town to pose questions to the women about problems that confronted contemporary Mauritanian girls. We concluded as evening prayers came and all the girls returned to the Boghe quarters for a hearty meal.
The next morning consisted of an array of sessions for the 75 conference girls. The Sage Femme came to talk about female circumcision. Joined by the doctor, they discussed AIDS prevention and family planning and engaged in a debate about female circumcision--religion versus science. Finally, a respected Imam from the community came with his disciples to talk to the girls about women and Islam. This turned out to be a fabulous opportunity for the girls to speak directly to an Imam. Most of their Islam training had come only from fathers and brothers. For some, this was a first chance to ask questions directly to a religious leader. They asked about everything from circumcision to marriage to girls playing football. Our Imam was open-minded and talked very engagingly to all of their issues. This was considered a highlight for many girls and some mothers who wiggled their way in to hear him. I hadn't expected such a positive repsonse to that activity, but it is one that I would repeat at any future conference I would plan.
In the afternoon, we had our long awaited and hotly contested football match. Certain conservative elements in town had been somewhat opposed to the activity at first. However, with the backing of the hakem, the mayor, the school director, and the parents, we decided to go ahead with it anyway. In Bababe, the girls had been practicing for the two previous weeks. It paid off. Over 1000 people came out to see what was billed as the "first ever girls soccer match in Mauritania." The match came down to a shoot-off and the "blue" team, made up of girls from both towns, was the victor. I received more compliments on the soccer match from men and women in town than I have from any previous project. It was a huge success for the girls and a huge step for Bababe.
After another huge dinner, the evening was capped off by a play from a Dioude Dierry group who, under the tutelage of the Lycee professor, had prepared a story about forced marriage. Unfortunately, the sound equipment we rented broke down and we had to postpone the activity for another weekend. Extra money was set aside to re-finance that project later in the month.
The next day everybody woke late and had a leisurely breakfast. Our band of tie-dying women showed up at the house and prepared their materials for the afternoon dying activity. Each girl was given a shirt and a quick lesson on dying cloth. A few hours later, the clotheslines were filled with greens and reds and color explosions dangling in the wind under the sun. The Boghe girls left after lunch and the Bababe girls saw them off at the garage.
Problems
On the whole, the entire conference went successfully. There was the normal tardiness of speakers and chaos of having 75 teenage girls in one house. Perhaps for the volunteers who were present, the quantity of girls was the most difficult factor. As Americans we like to keep tight control of where everybody is at all times. As Mauritanians, they want to go out into town and greet everybody. Our strict 24-hour attendance policy was trying to enforce. At each village-wide activity, it was important for us to keep careful track of the Boghe girls as they were away from home and entrusted to our care. Our top priority was that girls didn't sneak off into town and meet a band of fine looking young men. It wasn't until the second day that I finally paid the police to help keep order at each of the big activities. That was an imperative decision and made keeping control much easier and effective. The spectacle of having six tubaks and 30 out-of-town girls in one place is too much for a few Peace Corps volunteers to handle. Nevertheless, I had been meticulous about doing protocol with all officials and as a result had nothing but support from the aurhorities for the whole of the activity. That made it far more rewarding and kept the activities and the Peace Corps in good stead with the authorities. Protocol was a problem at last year's conference. This year proved that lessons had been learned.
Conclusion
If I had to do a conference like this again, I probably wouldn't. Not because it isn't possible. It IS possible and we proved it could be successful. However, it is an incredible amount of work for a volunteer and one counterpart to mobilize as many people and resources as we did to make it work. I would involve fewer people, or I would plan for only a daylong activity. Also, I would hearken back to the old adage about letting projects originate in the communties themselves. Then, perhaps, there would be a committee already in place and excited about planning a specific event. Then again, if it's a girls' conference you're planning and you're trying to give people a different perspective to the norm in Mauritania, sometimes you must "take the bull by the horns" and plan the thing YOUR way...even if it means you don't sleep for three nights.