VOA新闻杂志--塞内加尔一位女子高尔夫球手击败了大多数男子

Senegalese Woman Golfer Playing, Beating Most Men

When Oumou Dieye first started competing against men in the sport of golf, she was not confident. She said she felt a little afraid.

And she said, the men did not want to golf with her nor did they take her seriously.

But then, she won her first game.

After that, she had all the confidence she needed to keep playing and defeating male golfers.

Dieye is the only professional female¹ golfer in Senegal. She competes almost only against men. As she walks on the golf course in Saly, Senegal, she talks to other golfers, who are all men.

"Now, I (am) used to playing with men. I train in the morning, noon and night. I (am) in the gym three or four times per week," she said. "So, that also gives me ... confidence."

Dieye became a professional player seven years ago. That means she is paid for competing in the sport. She has won many competitions, including ones in Thailand, Kenya, and South Africa.

She was introduced to golf by her brother-in-law and immediately fell in love.

"Golf is a complete sport," she said. "You walk, you think, and you concentrate. And it (is) physical, too."

Not long after she began competing, Dieye was given a chance to train in Morocco. With the financial support from her French golf partners in Saly, she spent three months training with the Moroccan Golf Federation².

She said she enjoyed the experience so much that she returned to Morocco and stayed for seven years. While there, she also taught children at a golfing school.

Today her home is filled with many golfing awards. She has won so many that she does not know the exact number. Or in other words, she says she has lost track.

What she has done is notable³ because Senegal is a conservative⁴, Muslim nation. Observers⁵ say there is pressure from society for women not to be involved in professional sports.

More than 95 percent of Senegalese are Muslim. The country practices a more liberal⁶ form of Islam. However, the culture still has traditional ideas of what women should do. A woman who chooses sports over duties at home risks being rejected by her family.

"When you (are) Muslim, we prefer to keep girls at home, to find them a husband and make them a housewife," she said.

At first, her family was not supportive. But after seeing her love of the sport, they changed their minds. They permitted her to leave Dakar to move in with her brother-in-law near the golf course in Saly.

Now, Dieye lives with her four children and husband. He not only plays golf with her but often carries her golf equipment for her.

In 2018, when Dieye returned from Morocco, she was not happy about the state of golf in her home country. She wanted to create a golf school similar to the one in Morocco.

"In order to develop golf, we need to focus on the kids," she said.

The Senegalese Golf Federation was founded in 1991. There are now about 30 professional players around the country. But the group does not have a lot of money. There also are only two golf courses in the country.

In 2020, the federation agreed to help Dieye establish a golf school in preparation for the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar. It will be the first Olympic Games of any kind to be held in Africa. The 2022 Games were postponed⁷ because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It will be Dieye's job to train Senegal's first national golf team. This will involve preparing female golfers – including her own daughter.

The president of the Senegal Golf Federation is Baidy Agne. He said the federation is "prepared and committed" to support the girls in their training equally with the boys.

Women make up the majority of the population in Senegal, Agne added, and they must not be left behind. "Oumou can be a very good role model for these girls," he said.

Oumou Dieye says she hopes to find a sponsor⁸ so she can continue to compete internationally and bring the next generation of Senegalese female golfers into the world.

Words in This Story

confident –n. a feeling that you can do something and succeed at it

gym (gymnasium) –n. a room or building that has equipment for sports activities

concentrate –v. to place all of one's attention on something

golf course –n. an area of land where the game of golf is played

focus –v. to direct attention to or on something

role model –n. a person other people look up to and want to be like

committed –adj. willing to give your time and energy to something

1 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 notable   

adj.值得注意的，著名的；n.名人，要人

参考例句：

• His achievement is very notable.他的成就是非常显著的。
• He wrote and published the essay under notable's name.他假托名人写文章发表。

4 conservative   

adj.保守的，守旧的；n.保守的人，保守派

参考例句：

• He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
• The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。

5 observers   

n.观察者( observer的名词复数 )；遵守者；观测者；目击者

参考例句：

• According to observers, the plane exploded shortly after take-off. 据目击者说，飞机起飞后不久就爆炸了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 liberal   

adj.心胸宽阔的；自由(主义)的；慷慨的

参考例句：

• He has a liberal attitude to divorce and remarriage.他对离婚和再婚看得很开。
• This country adopts a liberal foreign policy.该国采用的是开放的外交政策。

7 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

8 sponsor   

vt.发起，主办；资助；n.发起者，资助人

参考例句：

• Sponsor stated they have no idea where he is.赞助方表示他们不知道他在哪儿。
• The sponsor has permanent ad on the website commonly.赞助商一般在网站上有永久性广告。