Alissumoye Diedhiou, a Senegalese queen 2.0: I recognize that I was a victim of early and, in a way, forced marriage'

"Her reign focuses primarily on guaranteeing the rights of girls, perhaps because she herself identifies as a victim of early and forced marriage, despite the honor she feels at having been chosen queen by the ancestors of the community. She greets us at her home while briskly tidying the small living room that serves as an anteroom to her bedroom."

"Nothing in her modest quarters suggests that Alissumoye Diedhiou (Cabrousse, 1986) is the sovereign of the approximately 50,000 people who inhabit the kingdom of Usui, in southern Senegal. Photographs of her enthronement in 2000, portraits with her husband, King Sibulumbai Diedhiou, and other images of her surrounded by smiling young people hang on the walls. A large flat-screen television plays a Nigerian romantic drama."

Alissumoye Diedhiou was enthroned at 14 and has reigned for twenty-five years over the Usui kingdom, home to roughly 50,000 people in southern Senegal. Her reign focuses on guaranteeing girls' rights, informed by her identification as a victim of early and forced marriage while also honoring ancestral selection. She lives modestly in a mud-brick estate with King Sibulumbai Diedhiou and his other wives, yet holds sole sovereign title. Royal regalia coexist with modern items like a mobile phone and a flat-screen TV. Visuals of enthronement and community outreach, such as breast cancer screening campaigns, mark her blending of tradition and modernity.

Read at english.elpais.com