Mariama Bâ

Mariama Bâ Listen^ⓘ (April 17, 1929 – August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, whose two French-language novels were both translated into more than a dozen languages.^[1] Born in Dakar, Senegal, she was raised a Muslim.

Mariama Bâ
Born	(1929-04-17)17 April 1929 Dakar, Senegal
Died	17 August 1981(1981-08-17) (aged 52) Dakar, Senegal
Occupation	Author
Language	French
Genre	novel
Notable works	So Long a Letter (Une si longue lettre)
Children	9

Her frustration with the fate of African women is expressed in her first novel, Une si longue lettre (1979; translated into English as So Long a Letter). In this semi-autobiographical epistolary work, Bâ depicts the sorrow and resignation of a woman who must share the mourning for her late husband with his second, younger wife.^[2] This short book was awarded the first Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1980.

Biography

Early years and education

Bâ was born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1929, into an educated and well-to-do Senegalese family of Lebu ethnicity.^[1] Her mother, Fatou Kiné Gaye, died when Mariama was 4. Her father, Amadou Bâ, founded the separatist African Autonomist Movement in 1946.^[3] He was the Minister of Health in 1956 while her grandfather was an interpreter in the French occupation regime. After her mother's death, Bâ was primaily raised by her maternal grandparents. who provided both spiritual and worldly guidance, balancing Lebou traditions while encouraging education.^[4]

She attended a Koranic school, where she studied the Qur'an, Arabic grammar, and Islamic ethics, while simultaneously attending French-language primary school, mastering mathematics, French literature, and European history ^[5] Demonstrating extraordinary growth, Bâ earned the highest examination score in all of French West Africa at the age of fourteen.^[6]  Her grandparents initially hesitated to allow her to pursue further education, reflecting broader societal restrictions on girls, but she continued to École Normale de Rufisque, one of the few teacher-training institutions for women. ^[7]After graduation, Bâ pursued a career in teaching and later became a school inspector, gaining firsthand insight into the structural inequalities in education and the limited opportunities available to women in postcolonial Senegal.^[8]

Within her primary school called École des Filles, now named École Berthe Maubert, Bâ was taught by Berthe Maubert. Maubert encouraged Bâ to a great extent and ultimately advocated for her to take the advanced exam for entry into École Normale de Rufisque. Maubert, acknowledging Bâ's studiousness, pushed Bâ to continue her education as opposed to halting her progress after primary schooling—which was the societal norm. In 1943, Bâ passed the exam and was enrolled into École Normale de Rufisque. During her time there, Bâ was taught by Germain LeGoff who highlighted the importance of retaining African heritage and having pride and tolerance for your identity and others.^[9] Seen in Bâ's later life as she began to write, strong teacher-student relationships become apparent as she depicts the importance of academic support and encouragement from mentors and educators.^[10] In 1947, at 18 years old, Bâ began her teaching career where her first experience was teaching at the School of Medicine in Dakar. Bâ then went on to teach at multiple institutions for 12 years.^[9]

Mariama Bâ and her husband Obèye Diop 1958

Personal life and later years

Bâ was married to Obèye Diop, a member of the Senegalese parliament. Their marriage, which produced nine children, eventually ended in divorce. Bâ’s experiences within this union deeply influenced her writing, particularly her critique of gender roles and marital expectations in postcolonial Senegal. Her observations of the emotional and social impact of polygamy and unequal power within marriage provided the foundation for her first novel, So Long a Letter, which portrays the struggles of educated women navigating tradition and modernity. Her personal experiences, including marriage, motherhood, and divorce, informed her nuanced understanding of the social and emotional challenges that women faced^[5]

Bâ died of lung cancer on August 17, 1981, after a long illness. Sadly, her death came just before the publication of her second novel, Un Chant écarlate (Scarlet Song). This novel explores the tragic love story between two individuals from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, whose relationship is ultimately destroyed by the pressures of tradition, societal expectations, and prejudice. Through this work, Bâ continued her profound critique of patriarchal and cultural constraints, using the lovers’ doomed union as a symbol of the struggles between modernity and tradition in postcolonial African society.

Work

Publications

Bâ’s literary career began in the late 1970s, with her works addressing the lived experiences of women in Senegalese society. Her debut novel, Une si longue lettre (So Long a Letter), is structured as an epistolary narrative, comprising a letter from Ramatoulaye, a recently widowed woman, to her close friend Aissatou.The novel explores the consequences of polygamy, marital betrayal, societal expectations, and women’s resilience. Bâ depicts Ramatoulaye’s inner reflections on her personal losses alongside the broader ethical dilemmas posed by Senegalese social norms, creating a layered narrative that intertwines private life and public scrutiny.  Her second novel, Un chant écarlate (Scarlet Song), published in 1981, examines cross-cultural relationships through the lens of a romance between a Senegalese man and a French woman. The narrative interrogates issues of identity, societal prejudice, postcolonial tensions, and the moral complexities of cultural encounters. Both novels emphasize education, personal autonomy, and the ethical responsibilities of individuals within a patriarchal context. Bâ’s narrative style combines emotional intimacy with critical social observation, and her works have been translated into multiple languages, gaining international recognition

So Long a Letter

Main article: So Long a Letter

In 1980, Une si longue lettre, translated as So Long a Letter, was awarded the first Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. In this book, Bâ recognized the immense contributions African women have made and continue to make in the building of their societies. The book was internationally successful. It was particularly successful in Senegal, which had only recently become independent from French colonial rule.^[3]

The book is written in the form of a letter, or a diary, from a widow, Ramatoulaye, to her childhood girlfriend, Aissatou, who lives in the United States. Nafissatou Niang Diallo (1941–1982), who started her works in the 1970s, was a mirror for Mariama Bâ, whose leading role was a strong-minded character. Moreover, she found support, friendship and values from female confidence, unity and harmony. The discriminatory use of power forces Ramatoulaye to deal with its consequences. This discriminatory power is what is in the novel a form of male domination coming from society's construction of a patriarchal ideology. Because Ramatoulaye is a woman, she has little power in determining her own destiny, but Aissatou rejects this notion and chooses her own life without being denied a life of her own by her husband Mawdo.^{[citation needed]}

So Long a Letter is often identified as an early feminist text, resonating with themes that women navigate globally. This is reflected through the characterization of Ramatoulaye, who undergoes a personal transformation shaped by the broader movement of women’s liberation struggles.^[11] Some scholars draw on historical and contemporary contexts to interpret key events within the novel’s timeline. Published in 1970s Senegal, the novel is situated within a period marked by significant socio-political developments, including the passage of the Family Code—which expanded women’s rights but faced religious resistance—the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism, and the pressures of rapid Westernization and modernization.^[12] Beyond this immediate context, Bâ highlights the social realities of Senegalese women in the 1970s, addressing themes such as polygamy, motherhood, and the challenging of stereotypes.

Within Bâ’s work, she draws attention to contradictory ideals arising from the social dynamics of colonial and post-colonial societies. In So Long a Letter, Bâ focuses on the impacts of patriarchy while portraying the complexities faced by young people growing up under conflicting social expectations. In both of her novels, Bâ comments on African youth and their navigation of intergenerational conflict in a post-colonial era. Scholars note that these characters do not seek to reject their cultures outright but instead attempt to synthesize and understand multiple social realities that shape their lives.^[13] These themes reflect Bâ’s own early life experiences, including the tension between her French colonial education and the expectation that she honor African cultural identity.^[9]

Bâ’s work is also studied as early feminist literature within an African context. By depicting women living in intersecting realities of gender, caste, and colonialism, she illustrates how African women experience compounded forms of oppression.^[14] As Bâ centers the lives of African women in ways often overlooked historically, her novel contributes to increased visibility for women marginalized within patriarchal systems. Bâ writes, “as women we must work for our own future, we must overthrow the status quo which harms us and we must no longer submit to it ”^[14]. So Long a Letter follows this trajectory by serving as a framework for identity reclamation and by honoring women whose voices have been diminished within male-dominated structures.^[15]

Scarlet Song

Scarlet Song (1981) also gained international attention. This book deals with the critically urgent need for women to create "empowered" spaces for themselves, meaning, women need to create a space where they are not considered the "weaker sex". Scarlet Song is about a marriage between a European woman and an African man. Mireille, whose father is a French diplomat, marries Ousmane, son of a poor Senegalese Muslim family. Moving back from Paris to Senegal, Ousmane once again adopts his traditions and customs. But, as an occidental, Mireille cannot handle this kind of life, especially when Ousmane takes a second wife. However, Senegal has a polygamous society and in their religion it is acceptable but Mireille did not accept it. She suffers the marriage. Most notably, the book criticizes the tyranny of tradition and expounds upon the despair of cross-cultural marriages.

Scarlet Song has been interpreted as an exploration of marital conflict and cultural tension. The couple’s relationship is marked by a dichotomy between individualism and collectivism, presenting their struggles as a commentary on the interplay between personal desires and cultural expectations.^[16] For instance, the young character Mireille challenges tradition by pursuing a marriage based on love, defying customary norms. Themes of intergenerational continuity, tradition, and cultural change are central to this novel as well ^[13]

A recurring theme in Bâ’s work is the influence of feminist thought within an African framework. Some scholars observe that the characters in Scarlet Song attribute patriarchal oppression primarily to men; however, others emphasize the significance of relationships among women in revealing the complexities of patriarchal systems. By examining how female subordination is sustained within African societies, Bâ’s work recenters women and their interpersonal relationships.^[17] Scholars note that characters such as Yaye Khady, Ouleymatou, and Mireille each occupy patriarchal social structures that shape their interactions and reinforce hierarchy. Additional scholarship examines the mixed-race marriage depicted in the novel as a commentary on unresolved socio-cultural tensions in post-colonial Africa. The conflicts that arise—both structural and interpersonal—are framed within a colonial legacy. Through this framework, Scarlet Song portrays cultural intolerance, rivalries among women, and the broader challenges of navigating life in a fractured post-colonial society.^[18]

La Fonction politique des littératures africaines écrites

In this article from 1981, Mariama Bâ states that every African woman should be proud of her strength and accomplishments. She believes that each woman contributes to Africa's development and participates in Africa's growth.^[19]

Legacy

Columbia University Libraries included So Long a Letter as one of the 20th century’s 100 best books about Africa.^[3]

A biography of Bâ was published in Dakar in 2007: Mariama Bâ ou les allées d'un destin by her daughter, Mame Coumba Ndiaye.^[20]

Mariama Bâ Boarding School (Maison d'Education Mariama Bâ)

School named after mariama ba

Following her death in 1981, Mariama Bâ’s legacy was honored through the founding of the Maison d’Éducation Mariama Bâ, an elite all-girls boarding school located on Gorée Island, Senegal. The school was established in 1977 by the Senegalese government and named in her honor by then-President Léopold Sédar Senghor, who recognized Bâ’s influence as both an educator and advocate for women’s advancement. The institution was created to provide gifted young women with access to a rigorous education that combined academic excellence with civic responsibility. Today, the Maison d’Éducation Mariama Bâ remains one of Senegal’s most prestigious schools, continuing Bâ’s vision of empowering women through education and leadership^[5]

Bibliography

• Bâ, Mariama (1979). Une si longue lettre [So Long a Letter] (in French). Dakar: Les Nouvelles Éditions Africaines. Republished in French by Serpent à plumes, Paris, 2001. Translated by Modupé Bodé-Thomas as So Long a Letter and published by Heinemann, 1981; Virago, 1982; and Waveland Press, 2012. Abridged in Daughters of Africa, e dited by Margaret Busby, 1992.^[21]
• Bâ, Mariama (1981). Un Chant écarlate (in French). Dakar: Les Nouvelles Éditions Africaines. Republished as Bâ, Mariama (2022). Un Chant écarlate (in French). Les Prouesses, Forcalquier (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence). ISBN 9782493324009. OCLC 1319657165. Translated as Bâ, Mariama (1985). Scarlet Song. Translated by Blair, Dorothy S. Harlow: Longman. OCLC 1390788798. The first edition of the translation was published in 1981.
• Bâ, Mariama (1981). "La fonction politique des littératures africaines écrites". Écriture Française dans le monde (in French). 5 (3): 3–7.

Further reading

• Curry, Ginette (January 4, 2004). Awakening African Women: The Dynamics of Change. London: Cambridge Scholars Press. ISBN 9781904303343. OCLC 56451077.
• Azodo, Ada Uzoamaka, ed. (2003). Emerging Perspectives on Mariama Bâ: Postcolonialism, Feminism, and Postmodernism. Africa World Press. ISBN 1-59221-028-7. OCLC 51817395.
• George, Joseph (1996). "12. African Literature". In Gordon, April A.; Gordon, Donald L. (eds.). Understanding Contemporary Africa. Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner. ISBN 1-55587-547-5.
• Kempen, Laura Charlotte (2001). Mariama Bâ, Rigoberta Menchú, and Postcolonial Feminism. Currents in comparative Romance languages and literatures. Vol. 97. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. ISBN 0-8204-4976-8. OCLC 44173010. Doctoral thesis.
• Ndiaye, Mame Coumba (2007). Mariama Bâ ou les allées d'un destin. Essais monde d'hier, monde de demain (in French). Dakar: Nouvelles Editions du Sénégal. ISBN 978-2-7236-1646-1. OCLC 778057506.