Drawing from the diverse fields of postcolonial studies, literary studies, history, anthropology, sociology, political science, environmental studies, and development studies, among others, Gender and Sexuality in Senegalese Societies demonstrates the urgency and necessity of new research in gender and queer studies in and on Senegalese societies. By focusing on subjects that have thus far been largely neglected in national and scholarly debates, the chapters are subversive, complex, and inclusive, centering within Senegalese studies themes and elements of alternative, nonbinary, variant, and nonheteronormative gender identities, sexualities, and voices. Contributors demonstrate that nationalist and anticolonial discourses propelled by deep and lingering socioeconomic inequalities have led, in postcolonial Senegal, to vitriolic scapegoating of individuals and communities with variant sexual and gender identities. The chapters in this volume look inward to the voices and experiences of the Senegalese people to challenge nationalist representations of advocacy for the liberation of gender and sexual minorities in Senegal as a function of a Western neocolonialist agenda.

Africa is going through an alarming health crisis with multiple pathologies, particularly HIV/AIDS which hinders the human and socio-economic development of the continent. The decrepit state of health systems in Africa has been greatly compounded by ill-suited macro-economic programmes, hence exacerbating the flight of human capital. There is also a crisis in the theories, models and the construction of responses to this situation. These have been influenced, since colonial times, by hegemonic concepts and principles dictated from the West which fail to take into account the cultural, social and political aspects of diseases in local societies and communities. A re-conceptualisation of the health question and approaches based on the questioning of dominant paradigms are therefore needed to confront the on-going health crisis and put Africa on track for development. Cheikh Ibrahima Niang teaches at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Senegal. As a specialist on Social Anthropology and Environment Sciences, he has worked extensively on social aspects of HIV/AIDS and public health issues in Senegal, Cte d'Ivoire, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, the Gambia and Guinea. He has published on sexuality, the HIV/AIDS social and political impacts, and cultural approaches to epidemic prevention. Niang has served as technical advisor to several United Nations bodies, including ONUSIDA, OMS, World Bank, PNUD, BIT, etc. He is the coordinator of Network SAHARA (Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance) for West Africa.