September 2002
After returning from a semester abroadin Madagascar, I began to contemplate the role of women in Malagasy society. At first glance, it seemed as though the women I met had almost as many rights as I did. After all, many had full time jobs, and girls attended schools and universities as often as boys did. My experience was nothing like friends had reported to me from Kenya, Morocco or Afghanistan, but thinking back on my sojourn, I have begun to realize that hiding in the shadows are some challenging situations that women must face.
During my visit in the country, I had the opportunity to stay with a Malagasy family, as did my thirteen American peers. I lived in a small neighborhood with my host mother, father, sister, and three cousins. Both parents worked full time, but my father never assisted in any of the housework, and without modern conveniences such as washing machines, running water or prepared foods, chores were not easy. My mother and female cousins, Bethe and Vololo (my sister was only three) had to rise at 5 AM each morning to heat the coal for our breakfast of rice and eggs.
During my visit in the country, I had the opportunity to stay with a Malagasy family, as did my thirteen American peers. I lived in a small neighborhood with my host mother, father, sister, and three cousins. Both parents worked full time, but my father never assisted in any of the housework, and without modern conveniences such as washing machines, running water or prepared foods, chores were not easy. My mother and female cousins, Bethe and Vololo (my sister was only three) had to rise at 5 AM each morning to heat the coal for our breakfast of rice and eggs.
This was so that my mother could walk three miles to be at work by 8 AM. My father worked at home. My mother also had to hand wash all laundry for the entire family. Bethe and Vololo always swept and washed the dishes. My father and male cousin never lifted a finger. Still, my father respected my mother and my family was a happy one.
One of my peers, Nan, lived in a family with fourteen children and two grandchildren. Nan eventually discovered that in order to make ends meet her oldest sister, aged 22, was forced into prostitution. Once Nan decided to treat her two oldest sisters to an evening at the nightclub. Upon arrival there, a white man in his fifties noticed the sister and pulled her aside. They begun dancing together, and eventually, the sister told Nan that she should go home without her. After asking her parents on other occasions where the sister was and receiving ambiguous responses, Nan put two and two together and realized that her sister was a prostitute. Because of the burgeoning economy and large family size, Nan's sister had no other choice. In addition, in a starving world infiltrated with TV flashing pictures of rich westerners in glamorous clothing, the appeal of a white beau who could buy her expensive gifts was strong.
Another classmate, Laura, encountered a similar distressing situation at her home. One time when she had gone to the nightclub with some friends, she noticed her father there dancing sexually with a woman who was not her mother. It turned out that this was a case of "deuxieum bureau" or the second lover, a common occurrence in Madagascar. A married man is free to take a girlfriend as long as he does not take her into his home. A wife, on the other hand, would never be permitted to do the same, and as women rarely can earn enough money to support a family alone, they are financially dependent on their husbands. Laura's mother was forced to silently accept the disgrace and rejection of her adulterous husband.
One of my peers, Nan, lived in a family with fourteen children and two grandchildren. Nan eventually discovered that in order to make ends meet her oldest sister, aged 22, was forced into prostitution. Once Nan decided to treat her two oldest sisters to an evening at the nightclub. Upon arrival there, a white man in his fifties noticed the sister and pulled her aside. They begun dancing together, and eventually, the sister told Nan that she should go home without her. After asking her parents on other occasions where the sister was and receiving ambiguous responses, Nan put two and two together and realized that her sister was a prostitute. Because of the burgeoning economy and large family size, Nan's sister had no other choice. In addition, in a starving world infiltrated with TV flashing pictures of rich westerners in glamorous clothing, the appeal of a white beau who could buy her expensive gifts was strong.
Another classmate, Laura, encountered a similar distressing situation at her home. One time when she had gone to the nightclub with some friends, she noticed her father there dancing sexually with a woman who was not her mother. It turned out that this was a case of "deuxieum bureau" or the second lover, a common occurrence in Madagascar. A married man is free to take a girlfriend as long as he does not take her into his home. A wife, on the other hand, would never be permitted to do the same, and as women rarely can earn enough money to support a family alone, they are financially dependent on their husbands. Laura's mother was forced to silently accept the disgrace and rejection of her adulterous husband.
A final example of the plight of Malagasy women I witnessed myself. One afternoon while I was quietly drawing pictures with my sister, I heard chilling screams from the neighbor's house. The entire family started running in that direction, and when we arrived we saw our neighbor writhing on the floor, still screaming, with all her hair pulled out from her beautiful cornrow braids. Some of the other neighbor women were there already comforting her so we returned to the house. Domestic violence! This horrific scene made me realize how lucky we are here in America to have laws that protect us from this kind of abuse. Without financial independence or legal action, our neighbor will suffer this all of her life.
These incidents are anecdotal, and they came from two and half months of experience living in a medium sized town on the southeast coast. I am sure that in rural areas and cities and even in towns in other provinces, life is very different. I am reporting only what I have experienced.
These incidents are anecdotal, and they came from two and half months of experience living in a medium sized town on the southeast coast. I am sure that in rural areas and cities and even in towns in other provinces, life is very different. I am reporting only what I have experienced.
Katie Zukof, Oberline College Ohio
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