The first African Women's Museum

Thursday, April 20, 2017

The Henriette-Bathily Women's Museum is a museum which was located on Gorée, an island on the coast of Senegal, across from the House of Slaves. In May 2015, it relocated to Dakar, at the Place du Souvenir Africain et de la Diaspora. A project conceived in 1987 by the filmmaker Ousame William Mbaye, it was opened in 1994 under the direction of Annette Mbaye d'Erneville.

On September 13, 2007, Mr. Jay Smith, Chargé d’Affaires, and Ms. Annette Mbaye d'Erneville, Director of Henriette Bathily Women’s Museum, signed a grant agreement for $28,500 for the preservation women’s culture in Senegal. The funds for the agreement were provided by the U.S. Department of State through the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. The signing ceremony took place at the women’s museum.

 The above picture shows various ways to tie their headscarves.

There are many artifacts and works of art representing religious and ethnic groups, domestic tools (irons, pots, etc.), sports awards, journalism awards, and much more.