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SENEGAL
Musée de la Femme Henriette Bathily
Maison Victoria Albis
Rue Malavois x Saint Germain
Île de Gorée
Dakar
Ph: +221 822 80 08 |
Housed
in typical 18C colonial style home with wooden shutters
and balconies, originally belonging to Victoria Albis,
one of the legendary Signares (powerful businesswomen).
It is named after Henriette Bathily, a local and much
revered woman journalist. |
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Located
on the tiny Île de Gorée, a 20-minute ferry ride from
Senegal’s capital, Dakar, the museum stands opposite La Maison
des Esclaves (The Slaves’ House) now a museum and the reason
the island is a UNESCO site of world cultural significance.
Opening in 1994, the museum tells the story of Senegalese women,
both past and present emphasising their central role in society
so giving them a sense of pride in their work and culture. The museum
came out of an initiative run by the National Women’s Association,
led by current director, Annette D’Erneville, who had for some
years organised exhibitions for International Women’s Day.
The displays are organised on 2 floors featuring prehistoric artefacts,
pottery, basketware, agricultural implements and kitchen utensils
used in economic and domestic life as well as items relating the
religious life. There is also a diorama of typical village life,
a display of traditional women’s jewellery, headgear and clothing
from the various ethnic groups as well as photographs of contemporary
Senegalese women first in their professional fields.
The Atelier is off the central Café Jardin where the local
women weave, sew and create batik and tie-dye items to sell in the
museum shop. Funding for training workshops to help handicapped
women form a co-operative has been achieved through UNIFEM and the
Italian Women’s Museum in Meran.
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