About Penda Seck Diouf
Of tolerance and dignity for women
Giant, woman of knowledge and humility, graduate of the ENA, fighter against human rights violations, violence against women and drugs among women and girls.
Being a child,Penda Seck Diouf was sensitive to the frequent injustices in her school or neighborhood “At a very young age I witnessed scenes of injustice at school where children can be victims of violence and violations of their rights … We wouldn’t spend a month without hearing women screaming out for help in their homes because they were victims of domestic violence.“. Also, during her studies in developmental sociology and education, she stressed on issues of social injustice, discrimination and documentation techniques related to violence based on gender.
In 1995, Penda Seck Diouf created the association Nénuphar, which fights against drugs among women, inspired by the experience of a very close neighbor who had dropped out of college after being introduced to drugs by older people. She still remembers that the reaction of the entourage and the family was to respond to a situation of addiction unknown at the time, through beatings, marginalization and rejection.
Her association stands particularly against the violence suffered by women involved in drugs. “A female user is often marginalized, chased out of her home and left on the street, vulnerable, at the mercy of all forms of violence. It is the only organization of its kind in Senegal, because this social problem is still taboo and is generally dealt with only in a repressive manner.In many cases, the basis of gender-based violence is drugs“.
It is under the banner of her association Nénuphar that Penda Seck Diouf is named President of the Monitoring Platform for Peace and Security (Ëtu Jamm), which brings together 50 civil society organizations, each one intervening according to its specificity, particularly in the mediation for peaceful elections in Senegal and for the promotion of women’s leadership in access to decision-making bodies.
Ëtu Jamm is represented in twelve regions of Senegal by focal points. This network is a pacification body that takes care of women victims of violence from specific ways through economic and social activities. “Ëtu Jamm” works particularly on violence during election periods, by receiving women in permanent watch rooms. During the 2019 election period, “Ëtu Jamm” alerted and denounced the violence suffered by making statements in the media and issuing a relayed report to the authorities.
This network is a peace-building body that deals specifically with women victims of violence through economic and social activities.
“Ëtu Jamm” works particularly on violence during election periods, by receiving women in the permanent watch rooms. During the 2019 election period, Ëtu Jamm alerted and denounced the violence suffered by making statements in the media and issuing a report that was relayed to the authorities.
The network drew attention to the shortcomings of female leadership in politics: why women are sidelined from the political scene, and the discrimination they face.
In 1997, the Comité de lutte contre les violences faites aux femmes (CLVF) (Committee to combat violence against women) was set up when women’s organisations came together to support and accompany women victims of domestic violence following a high-profile incident.
Penda Seck Diouf has been President of the CLVF for the past 7 years, and the organisation has become indispensable because of the recurrence of this type of violence. The worst forms of violence occur within the family: paedophilia, rape, incest, assault and battery.
“Violence cannot build a society, even if there is no society without violence. Gender-based violence is a violation of a person’s fundamental rights, an attack on equality“.
