I love what Thomas Sankara, former president of Burkina Faso, said about women. I had previously published it here, Thomas Sankara in His Words. Did you know that Sankara had placed women at the center of his politics? He appointed females to high governmental positions, encouraged them to work, recruited them into the military, and granted pregnancy leave during education. During his time, he outlawed female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy in support of Women’s rights. Excerpts below are from “We are Heirs of the World’s Revolutions, Speeches from the Burkina Faso Revolution 1983-87” by Thomas Sankara, Pathfinder Press (2007) p. 49 – 50.

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The weight of age-old traditions in our society has relegated women to the rank of beasts of burden. Women suffer doubly from all the scourges of neocolonial society. First, they experience the same suffering as men. Second, they are subjected to additional suffering by men. 

Our revolution is in the interests of all the oppressed and all those who are exploited in today’s society. It is therefore in the interests of women, since the basis of their domination by men lies in the system through which society’s political and economic life is organized. By changing the social order that oppresses women, the revolution creates the conditions for their genuine emancipation.

The women and men of our society are all victims of imperialist oppression and domination. … they wage the same battle. The revolution and women’s liberation go together. We do not talk of women’s emancipation as an act of charity or out of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the revolution to triumph. Women hold up the other half of the sky. 

… Until now, women have been excluded from the realm of decision making. The revolution, by entrusting women with responsibilities, is creating the conditions for unleashing women’s fighting initiative. … They will be involved in all the battles we will have to wage against the various shackles of neocolonial society in order to build a new society. … The final goal of this great undertaking is to build a free and prosperous society in which women will be equal to men in all spheres. 

However, we must have a correct understanding of the question of women’s emancipation. It is not a mechanical equality between men and women, acquiring habits recognized as male – drinking, smoking, and wearing pants. That’s not the emancipation of women. Nor will acquiring diplomas make women equal to men or more emancipated. A diploma is not a free pass to emancipation.

The genuine emancipation of women is one that entrusts responsibilities to women, that involves them in productive activity and in the different fights the people face. The genuine emancipation of women is one that compels men to give their respect and consideration. Emancipation, like freedom, is not granted, it is conquered. It is for women themselves to put forward their demands and mobilize to win them. 

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