Mariama Bâ

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

Mariama Bâ (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.

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] 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 passed away on August 17, 1981, after a long battle with lung cancer. 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]}

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.

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.^[10]

Feminism and politics

Mariama Bâ’s writing reflected a deeply personal engagement with the social, religious, and political struggles of women in postcolonial Senegal. While her works often contained feminist themes, Bâ herself avoided the label “feminist,” arguing that it was too closely tied to Western frameworks. Instead, she sought to articulate a distinctly African form of womanhood that valued mutual respect and partnership between genders. Her voice remains central to the evolution of African feminist and postcolonial thought^[4]

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. It was praised by Jean-Marie Volet as "a fascinating, considerate and enlightening" book.^[11]

Mariama Bâ’s influence extends beyond her novels, as her work continues to inspire discussions about gender, politics, and education in Africa and around the world. Her portrayal of women as agents of change helped shape feminist thought in African literature and encouraged future generations of African writers to address issues of social justice and equality. Educational institutions and literary prizes across Africa and the diaspora have honored her legacy, ensuring that her voice remains central to the study of postcolonial and feminist literature.

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, edited by Margaret Busby, 1992.^[12]
• 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.

References

1. Yasmin, Seema (2020). Muslim women are everything : stereotype-shattering stories of courage, inspiration, and adventure. Azim, Fahmida. New York, NY: Harper Design - HarperCollins. pp. 27–30. ISBN 978-0-06-294703-1. OCLC 1135224567.
2. Latha, Rizwana Habib (2001). "Feminisms in an African Context: Mariama Bâ's so Long a Letter". Agenda. 50 (50): 23–40. JSTOR 4066403.
3. Moity, Steven (October 11, 2024). "Overlooked No More: Mariama Bâ, Voice of African Feminism". New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
4. Turner, Melissa (2009-12-01). "Mariama Bâ (1929-1981)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
5. "Biography of Mariama Bâ by Lauren Daugherty | South African History Online". sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
6. "Mariama Ba | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2025-11-13.
7. Stratton, Florence (1994). Contemporary African literature and the politics of gender. African studies/literature/gender studies (1. publ ed.). London: Routledge [u.a.] ISBN 978-0-415-09770-3.
8. Khazin, Muhammed Abdalla (2023-06-01). "The Woman Writer in African Literature: The Case of Mariama Ba". AKEM (in Turkish). Retrieved 2025-11-13.
9. Heistad, Deirdre Bucher (2002). "Beyond Mariama Bâ: Senegalese Women Writers in the Classroom". Women in French Studies. 2002 (1): 273–295. doi:10.1353/wfs.2002.0042. ISSN 2166-5486.
10. Plant, D. G. (Summer 1996). "Mythic Dimensions in the Novels of Mariama Bâ". Research in African Literatures. 27 (2). Indiana University Press: 102–111. JSTOR 3820164.
11. Volet, Jean-Marie (August 2009). "Rev. of Mariama Bâ ou les allées d'un destin by Mame Coumba Ndiaye". University of Western Australia.
12. "So Long a Letter", LibraryThing.