Senegal Women

I found this image on the NY Times article about Senegal ending female genital cutting. While I was happy that they have abandoned this cultural ritual since it puts women through pain, this image still saddens me that young women have to collect water for their community. Especially when they have a very young child who looks very sad and her mother is still doing work, which seems unsafe to me. It also seems like child labor since in the very left side of the photo there is a young girl who is probably only 10 years old. Their culture is very different from ours, but I still think that the female children should be required to go to school. They are obviously making progress in Senegal since they are stopping their cultural rituals, but progress needs to still be done. This is their culture however. It is shown expressively through their brightly colored clothes and the way their hair is done. These physical characteristics help us to classify these women as from Africa according to Hall. It gives the world meaning since culture is what makes up the world. The politics in Africa don't protect against child labor or health standards since most of the villages don't have that type of government. These female bodies make up the work of the village so they can stay hydrated. I view them as very different from the women in America. I think they are much more strong and independent and have suffered through so much pain both physically and emotionally that nothing can bring them down. I give all my props to these women, because some of them still have smiles on their faces even though they are gone through so many hardships. They are starting to gain freedom through the female genital cutting, but it will never be like our culture.