The Senegalese pop star who dared to sing about rape

Following widespread protests in Senegal about the rape and murder of women, the law was changed in 2020 to make rape a serious crime instead of a misdemeanour.

The events opened up a conversation around sexual assault, shame and accountability, headed by a pop star who dared to sing about her own experience.

In her home, two hours south of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, pop star Lady Mounass sings me a song in her native Wolof language:

I don’t have the strength to fight

Not even the strength to argue

I lost my confidence

You betrayed me

You took what was dearest to me

Please please, consideration for women

Lady Mounass is known for her saucy lyrics and signature sexy style, but this song is very different. It details the emotional trauma she suffered after being raped by two men in 2011.

“It’s very difficult for me to sing this song unaccompanied because the words are a description of what actually happened to me,” she says. “I cry myself to sleep frequently. Every day, I’m living with the shame attached to it.”

Lady Mounass says she went to the police and one of her attackers was arrested, but later released without charge. Her family wanted her to keep quiet about her experience, but during an interview on Senegalese television last year, she inadvertently revealed the truth.

“The presenter kept asking me, ‘You seem to have a particular interest in this issue, you seem to be particularly sensitive to this topic.’ And so the tears began welling up and I just couldn’t contain it.”

The revelation sent shock waves through her life. Some critics suggested her “provocative” style had given men the “wrong impression”, while others claimed she’d made the whole thing up as a publicity stunt. “Some people tried to say that I was only doing it to get attention – and that really hurt my feelings,” says Lady Mounass. “My own family said, ‘This is exactly why we told you not to talk about this publicly.’”