Therapeutic Abortion Debate in Senegal: The Case of a 9-Year-Old Girl Raped by Her Quranic Teacher

The case reignites the debate on therapeutic abortion. In Joal-Fadiouth, located 100 kilometers south of Dakar, a 9-year-old girl is expecting a child after being raped by her Quranic teacher. A dramatic situation that, according to Le Monde, highlights the failures of the Senegalese judicial system and the deafening silence of the authorities in the face of sexual violence. The tragedy unfolded during private Quranic lessons. The alleged attacker, Aliou S., a widowed man in his forties and father, enjoyed an excellent reputation in the neighborhood. "Everyone trusted him. Adults went to his home to learn about religion," testifies Souleymane Barry, Awa's (pseudonym) father, in the French daily. Awa's ordeal was only discovered after four months of abuse. According to Major Commander Diabang of the Joal-Fadiouth gendarmerie, cited by Le Monde, the attacker "made her drink water he claimed was blessed to improve the child's memory. Once drugged, he raped her." Unfortunately, this case is not isolated. The Association of Senegalese Jurists (AJS) reports that "of the 331 rape victims recorded in 2022, 43% were between 4 and 14 years old." Even more worrying, according to a report by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) cited by the evening newspaper, the Dakar Child and Family Guidance Center recorded "97 cases of rape or incest on minors and 21 cases of rape followed by pregnancy, with an average age of 11 years" in the Dakar region alone during the 2016-2017 period. In the face of this tragedy, the new Senegalese authorities, elected in March, remain silent. Despite the signing of the Maputo Protocol in 2004, which provides for the authorization of abortion in extreme cases, no government has dared to legislate on the issue, fearing religious pressures. Some organizations, reports Le Monde, even denounce abortion as a practice "imported from the West" contrary to "African values." For Awa and other victims, the ordeal is twofold. Not only is abortion forbidden to them, but they also receive no psychological support. The Barry family also faces financial difficulties and social stigma. "People say it's my fault she's pregnant. They come here to reproach me. So I'm afraid to go out," the mother confides to Le Monde. Despite everything, the young girl tries to keep hope: "I don't want this to stop me from studying. My dream has always been to become a midwife to help poor women give birth," she tells the French daily. The attacker, who admitted the facts before the crowd and the gendarmerie, faces life imprisonment. But for many feminist activists cited by Le Monde, the real issue remains the evolution of abortion legislation, as these crimes represent "the second cause of incarceration of women and girls in Senegal, after drug trafficking."