Cameroonian writer Djaïli Amadou Amal, star of literature in her country, won the 33rd Goncourt des Lycéens on Wednesday for
Les Impatientes
, a poignant novel on the condition of women in the south-Sahel.
“
The writing is simple and touching and rings true, without unnecessary lyricism.
It is a subtle book that allows us to observe the question of forced marriage through the prism of this moving testimony
, ”declared by video-conference the president of the high school student jury Clémence Nominé.
Les Impatientes
, published by the Emmanuelle Colas publishing house, is the cover of a novel published in her country in 2017 under another title,
Munyal
, a Fulani word which means patience.
Inspired by her own experience as a woman forcibly married at 17 to a polygamist, Djaïli Amadou Amal portrays several of these women forced like herself to accept the codes of an oppressive patriarchal society.
Moved, Djaïli Amadou Amal said he was "
very sensitive
" to the choice of high school students.
For her, the interest shown by young people in the subject of violence against women “
means hope for the future
”.
For the final phase, a national jury composed of 12 high school students debated Wednesday morning behind closed doors and at a distance.
Traditionally proclaimed in Rennes, the city where it was created more than 30 years ago, the Goncourt des Lycéens was announced by videoconference in the presence of the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer.
The Goncourt des Lycéens is one of the most influential prices for book sales.