Knowledge, power and inequality in Senegal: The perils of ignoring Islamic education when envisaging sustainable development

Learning for sustainable development involves commitment to social justice, by reducing inequalities and granting equal access to knowledge people themselves define as valuable. This paper draws on ethnographic fieldwork in... [ view full abstract ]

Learning for sustainable development involves commitment to social justice, by reducing inequalities and granting equal access to knowledge people themselves define as valuable. This paper draws on ethnographic fieldwork in northern Senegal, arguing that the low priority state actors – and international donors - accord to Islamic education fails to meet people’s demands for valuable knowledge, and perpetuates structural inequalities supported by religious ideologies. To clarify, northern Senegalese society is characterised by a hierarchical caste-like system and patriarchal norms. Islamic knowledge holds the greatest prestige, and imams and clerics wield significant social influence. High-caste men monopolise these posts and Qur’anic education, and their restrictive gender and caste ideologies therefore go unchallenged. Government actors claim that secular state schools counter these ideologies by being accessible regardless of caste and gender, and teaching human rights. However, while women and lower castes attend state school, they have an unmet demand for Islamic education essential for their wellbeing. Furthermore, equality of access masks inequality of outcome as gender norms, caste-based economic inequalities and political patronage mean elite caste men are most likely to obtain diplomas and hence employment. Women and low-caste men who have accessed religious education try to challenge social norms, but are too few to be effective. The Senegalese government recently created state Islamic schools, but to meet donor-mandated EFA targets rather than address unequal access to religious education as a human rights issue, or as the key to tackling wider social inequalities which impede social justice and hence undermine sustainable development.