Kalista Sy
Quick Facts
Biography
Kalista Sy (born c. 1982) is a Senegalese screenwriter, notable for writing and producing the TV series Mistress of a Married Man (Maîtresse d'un homme marié, 2016–present), set in Dakar. Episodes air on Marodi TV Sénégal and are also uploaded to YouTube.
Professor Marame Gueye wrote of Sy that, "Her female cast does not practice the widely accepted skin bleaching prominently featured in earlier series as the standard of beauty for Senegalese women. More importantly, the series puts women’s experiences at the center of its storyline. Marème and her cohort are ambitious women with jobs and their lives do not center exclusively on their relationships with men." The series' frank discussion of female sexual freedom led to Islamic clerics calling for it to be banned.
In 2019, she was listed among the BBC's 100 Women.