Ndèye Coumba Mbengue Diakhaté

Biography Born in 1924 in Rufisque, Senegal, Mbengue Diakhaté was one of the first schoolteachers to graduate from the Rufisque Normal School. She was an active member of Rufisque's Association pour l'Action sociale des femmes (Women's Social Action Association).

Works Her poetry conveys her views on how women are placed in society, for example, when a man tells his sister or mother "Jiguen rek nga!" (After all, you're just a woman). The conflict with the white population comes through in "Ils étaient Blancs, j'étais Noire..." (They were white, I was black). She not only conveys her innermost thoughts through her poetry but reproduces the forms and rhythms of the Serer oral tradition in her French verses.

Death and legacy Ndèye Coumba Mbengue Diakhaté died on 25 September 2001 in Dakar.