The Problem of “Ninjas” and “Bandits”: Ethnographic Encounters with Reformist Muslim Women in Guinea

Abstract

Muslim women in Guinea who wear face and body coverings are derisively called "ninjas" and "bandits," while those who attend Arabic language and Koranic reading classes are widely regarded with suspicion. This article focuses on women participating in a controversial religious movement, explores how these women engage and embody the limits of gender roles, and asks how examining the experiences of aberrant women can challenge assumptions about both gender and ethnographic practice. [aberrance, ethnography, gender, Guinea, Islam, veiling] One afternoon during Ramadan in September 2010, I sat with my friend Hadiatou in front of her marketplace shop in a small town in the West African Republic of Guinea, where I was then conducting fieldwork. 1 A man, Oumar, joined us. Oumar lived in the United States and was back to visit his hometown. He asked Hadiatou how her business was doing, and she replied that it was fine, though a little slow."You should sell ninja clothes," Oumar suggested. "Would that make money?" I asked. Hadiatou replied that she didn't know, but she didn't like it when women covered themselves completelyor, in the local Pular language verb, buumagol."It's the style, that's all," said Oumar dismissively. But then he told a story about two men who had disguised themselves as women who buumagol and tried to rob his uncle. Hadiatou matched his story with another. She knew of two girls in Conakry, Guinea's capital, who would buumagol during the day, but at midnight they would put on "sexy" clothes and go out dancing. Oumar said that he had a cousin who had started to buumagol, but he did not know that she had adopted this practice when she came to see him upon his return from the United States. When she greeted him, he told her that she would not get any money from him until he could see her face and be sure of her identity. Once she heard the word "money," she uncovered her face right away, said Oumar.Amadou, the proprietor of the shop next door, had been listening to the conversation and now spoke up. "I don't like it when women cover their faces. They can see you, but you can't see them. It's not fair. It's not right. It's too secretive. They are true ninjas!" he concluded.