Dairy Sow, 20, who has gained a reputation as one of the most promising young Senegalese nationals, has gone missing in Paris.
“A rising star who is the pride of the people” was how Senegal’s President, Macky Sall, described young Sow last August after she authored a novel, Sous le Visage d’un Ange (Under the Face of an Angel).
Due to her academic excellence and winning the national high-school competitions in both 2018 and 2019, she got into the prestigious preparatory school in Paris. She is currently a second-year student of the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, where she continued to excel in all her courses according to her peers.
The Washington Post reported that on, January 4, Sow was said to be missing according to a letter sent to the Senegalese embassy by her school. The school pointed out that she had stopped showing up for lectures.
Paris Prosecutors are worried over her recent disappearance and the police have launched an investigation into it. Back in her home country, President Sall has sent out investigators to search for her in Dakar and some Senegalese students have printed flyers to raise awareness about her missing status and gather support.
Senegalese nationals in Paris and surrounding cities also recently took to the streets with her face on pamphlets in search of her and chanting “together let’s find Dairy Sow”.
Others took to Twitter praying and advocating for her safe return. A hashtag #RetrouvonsDiarySow (Let’s Find Diary Sow) trended on the microblogging platform on Tuesday.
“This isn’t good at all. We need to find Dairy Sow alive and well,” tweeted Jeff Charlot (@Jeff_Charlot).
Dela Move (@NestaWane) thinks there is a possibility Sow may just have taken time off to reflect on her academic fame. “The pressure of being a good student is hard for anyone. Maybe she wanted a break from it all,” she suggested on Tuesday.
“She is so young too, even if she is extremely intelligent maa shaa Allah. That doesn’t take away that she has just left her teenage years… I really hope she is MIA [missing in action] by her own choice and not anything sinister.”
Her disappearance has been widely reported, with various international news platforms referring to her as a talented Senegalese student, Senegalese best student, and an academic legend.
Fatou Bintou Sanoho, a board member at the Federation of Senegalese Students and Interns in France, directly answered questions on why Sow is important to the country. She said, “For an emerging country, the schooling of young girls is very important.” Sow “symbolises hope” and was a standard-bearer for all Senegalese girls, she added.
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