Aline Sitoe Diatta (alter: Aline Sitow Diatta and Alyn Sytoe Jata): a Senegalese heroine of the resistance to French colonialism

French colonial empire

The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...

, often called the Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

 or the Marianne

Marianne

Marianne is a national emblem of France and an allegory of Liberty and Reason. She represents the state and values of France, differently from another French cultural symbol, the "Coq Gaulois" which represents France as a nation and its history, land, culture, and variety of sport disciplines in...

 of Senegal.

Diola royalty living in the village of Kabrousse

Kabrousse

Kabrousse is a village in the rural community of Diembéring, Oussouye, Ziguinchor, Casamance, Senegal.It is a coastal village located a few kilometers south of Cap Skirring...

, Basse Casamance, Aline Sitoe Diatta was one of the leaders of a tax resistance

Tax resistance

Tax resistance is the refusal to pay tax because of opposition to the government that is imposing the tax or to government policy.Tax resistance is a form of civil disobedience and direct action...

 movement during the Second World War. While Diola resistance had never really ended since the region was annexed to French West Africa

French West Africa

French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...

 in 1914, in 1942 the French government began seizing as much as half the area's rice harvest for their war effort.

When a boycott begun by market women proved successful, the French authorities imprisoned the boycott's leadership. Aline Sitoe Diatta, esteemed as a Diola queen and believed to have religious powers, was marked out by authorities as a leader. She remained in prison, and was deported to a jail in Timbuctu in 1943. There she died of disease in 1944.

Since her death, Aline Sitoe Diatta has become one of the best known symbols of resistance in West Africa, and a national symbol in Senegal, especially in Casamance

Casamance

Casamance is the area of Senegal south of The Gambia including the Casamance River. It consists of Basse Casamance and Haute Casamance...

. An area of Dakar

Dakar

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

, near Cheikh Anta Diop University

Cheikh Anta Diop University

Cheikh Anta Diop University , also known as the University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop and has an enrollment of over 60,000.-History:...

 is named cité Aline Sitoé Diatta

Cite Aline Sitoe Diatta

- Overview :Formerly known as Cité Claudel, after independence the area was named after Aline Sitoe Diatta, an anti-colonial leader from Casamance. Although the name has changed, many still refer to the area as Claudel or Fann. Cité Aline Sitoe Diatta is the home of Cheikh Anta Diop University,...

, a stadium bears her name

Stade Aline Sitoe Diatta

Stade Aline Sitoe Diatta is a multi-use stadium in Ziguinchor, Senegal. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as a home ground of Casa Sport. The stadium holds 10,000 people, and was built to host the African Cup of Nations held in Senegal in 1992...

, and numerous schools, businesses, and organizations are named after her.

The latest use of her name is the new passenger ferry MV Aline Sitoe Diatta

MV Aline Sitoe Diatta

The MV Aline Sitoe Diatta is a ferry in active service since March 2008 between Ziguinchor and Dakar over the Atlantic Ocean.The ship passes the mouth of the Gambia....

 as replacement for the 2002 sank MV Le Joola.