Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle

by Thomas Sankara

“There is no true social revolution without the liberation of women,” explains the leader of the 1983-87 revolution in Burkina Faso. Workers and peasants in that West African country established a popular revolutionary government and began to combat the hunger, illiteracy, and economic backwardness imposed by imperialist domination. Preface, introduction, map, photos, index. Also available Spanish, French, Farsi

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Politics, History, Africa, Theory, Race

72 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1990

About the author

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was a Burkinabé military captain, Marxist revolutionary, pan-Africanist theorist, anti-colonialist and President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987, in which he lead an historic revolution.

He is widely recognized as the leader Africa always needed : the pan-africanist movement inducted him as a hero since his assassination. Furthermore viewed by supporters as a charismatic and iconic figure of revolution, he is commonly referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara".

Reviews

[leynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be required reading. I cannot believe that I had never heard of Sankara before picking up this essay collection.

Thomas Sankara was the central leader of the popular, democratic revolution in the West African country of Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) from 1983 to 1987. Sankara was jailed briefly in 1982 after resigning a government post to protest the regime’s repressive policies. In the wake of the coup, Sankara was appointed prime minister in January 1983. Sankara’s uncompromising course – calling on the people of Upper Volta and elsewhere in Africa to advance their interests against the propertied exploiters at home and abroad – led to growing conflict with pro imperialist forces in the government.

We are not looking to organise what exists but to definitely destroy and replace it.

In May, 1983 Sankara and some of his supporters were arrested by President Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo. On August 4, 1983 Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaore staged a coup in the Republic of Upper Volta. Compaore led his men to take over key parts of Ouagadougou, the capital. When the regime was overthrown, Thomas Sankara was released from house arrest and became president of the new National Council of the Revolution. Sankara called for a Marxist anti-colonial revolution. His anti-colonial revolutionary program consisted of independence from foreign imports, political reforms to fight corruption, environmental justice, and placed a huge emphasis on a women’s liberation movement.

In other words, posing the question of women in Burkinabè society today means posing the abolition of the system of slavery to which they have been subjected for millennia.

Sankara’s focus on a women’s liberation movement is unique to Sankara and Burkina Faso. Sankara was always a big admirer of Fidel Castro and Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. In Cuba, Castro and Che and the 26th of July Movement understood that the peasants were the revolutionary class through armed struggle and not the Communist Party’s alliance with a coalition of unions as a vanguard party. ‘The Movement’ saw that there had to be a force with credibility in the colonial society that could ally itself with the most oppressed group of people, that was armed struggle through guerrilla warfare tactics and the peasant class.

The man, however, no matter how oppressed he is, has another human ending to oppress: his wife.

Moreover, there is no lack of examples of men, even though progressive, who live cheerfully in adultery, yet would be ready to murder their wives on the merest suspicion of infidelity.

Thomas Sankara saw the radical elements of the military as the societally-credible force and women as the most oppressed group of people. As Sankara saw gender equality as the core of any revolutionary movement in Burkina Faso he followed his rhetoric with action. He appointed women into positions within the government and into the revolutionary army. He created the Ministry of Family Development and the Union of Burkina Women (UFB) and amended the constitution to require that the president have at least five women in their ministry.

The only difference between the woman who sells her body through prostitution and she who sells herself in marriage is the price and duration of the contract.

After the restructuring, several reforms took place. Polygamy and forced marriages were banned, education programs were set up to teach home economics, parenting, and how to stop the spread of AIDS. Sankara was the first African leader to acknowledge the threat of AIDS. Sankara also established International Women’s Day (March 8) as a day to swap gender roles. He also turned the whole week into the Week of the Women to celebrate Burkinabe women. He also forced husbands to give their wives half of their paycheck.

While society sees the birth of a boy as a “gift from God”, the birth of a girl is greeted as an act of fate, or at best, a gift that can be used to produce food and perpetuate the human race. […] The future woman, however, is dealt blow after blow by a society that unanimously, as one man drums into her head norms that lead nowhere. […] And so this child knows no childhood. From the age of three, she must meet the requirements of her role in life: to serve and be useful.

His most remarkable achievement towards gender equality was banning female genital cutting and setting up educational programs on why it was banned. This was remarkable for a few of reasons. The first, was that he was able to ban the practice without disrupting relations in the country. Second, it was a power grab, it was a way of asserting the authority of the revolution while taking power away from the country’s traditional leaders, mostly the Mossi people. Third, it was a way to appease the imperialist powers of the world by complying with the United Nation’s standards on gender equality.

The question of women’s equality must be in the minds of all decision-makers, at all times, and in all the different phases of conceiving and executing plans for development.

I absolutely adored reading Sankara’s speech on women’s liberation. I think it should be required reading everywhere. Given in 1987, it is so progressive and still so timely. We can learn so much from this man and his refreshing outlook on life. Thomas Sankara wanted women to speak up, he allowed them to have a voice, he made space for them in his government. And the end of this speech he says that he doesn’t want to live in a society where “half the people are held in silence.” He could “hear the roar of women’s silence.” Let us not be silent anymore.

[ayşe · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was really excited to read this because of my great amount of respect for thomas sankara and everything he has done, but this disappointed me a little :( what i particularly was bothered by was him reducing women to being mothers, sisters, daughters and emphasizing the importance of their liberation because it will restore or benefit men. i understand how patriarchal the society he was speaking in was and that this speech and his views were definitely revolutionary and progressive for the time he was speaking in. its def progressive for certain areas in turkey in 2022 as well. i did appreciate how he linked the oppression of women to imperialism and capitalism and that the liberation of women is impossible without a revolution that aims to overthrow this oppressive system, which i agree with and for this aspect alone i think its important for anyone who calls themselves a feminist or who is interested in marxism/anticolonialism or who is a marxist but a male to read this. and although i didnt agree with some aspects of this speech i believe hes one of the most important and incredible figures in history and everyone should know about him

[KamRun · Rating 4 out of 5]

قصد من این نیست تا برای ترحم به زنان التماس کنم. من به نام انقلاب - که هدفش تقدیم کردن است نه گرفتن - تعیین تکلیف می‌کنم که عدالت در مورد زنان به اجرا درآید. - توماس سانکارا

توماس سانکارا و زنان: انقلاب فقط با آزادی زنان پیروز خواهد شد

بیشتر مواضع انقلابی توماس سانکارا در کتاب ما وارثان انقلاب‌های جهان هستیم آمده است. کتاب فعلی اما به تفصیل به دیدگاه توماس سانکارا در باب حقوق زنان پرداخته که شامل دو بخش است: بخش اول، نطق کامل سانکارا در سال 1987 با نام اعتلای زن و انقلاب آفریقا و بخش دوم، قسمتی از سخنرانی سانکارا در مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل

احتمالا کتاب در نگاه اول برای عموم ما گزاره تازه و بدردبخوری نداشته باشد. اما اگر سخنرانی سانکارا را در بافتار تاریخی و فرهنگی خود بررسی کنیم - 33 سال پیش، در قلب قاره‌ی سیاه و یکی از عقب‌مانده‌ترین کشورهای استعمارزده‌ی دنیا - آن‌گاه به اهمیت و ارزش آن پی‌می‌بریم. از این رو که درخواهیم یافت، یک رهبر نظامی کمونیست، که اگر ترور نمی‌شد و چند سالی بیشتر زنده می‌ماند، از سوی دموکراسی‌های غربی ملقب به دیکتاتور می‌شد (همان‌ها که ماندلا را نیز ملقب به تروریست کردند!) و احتمالا جناب اشتری هم کتابی در مورد خون‌خواری‌اش به فارسی ترجمه می‌کرد - چه دیدگاه روشن و مترقی‌ای نسبت به حقوق زنان داشته است. سانکارا بارها به وضوح، پیروزی نهایی انقلاب آفریقا را در گروی پیروزی مبارزات زنان خوانده است:

ای هم‌رزمان! هیچ انقلابی نمی‌تواند پیش از آنکه زنان را از انقیاد برهاند، به پیروزی برسد. بدون آزادی زنان، هیچ انقلابی وجود خارجی نخواهد داشت

او در عین حال که وزاتخانه‌ها و دیگر نهادهای دولتی را مسئول پیگیری حقوق زنان می‌کند، از خود زنان هم می‌خواهد که در خط مقدم مبارزه حضور داشته و خواسته‌های خود را مصرانه و پی‌گیرانه فریاد بزنند:

هدف مبارزه اصیل ما، دستیابی به نظمی جدید است. بگذارید زنانمان در صف مقدم مبارزه قرار گیرند. زنان نباید از صحنه مبارزه عقب‌نشینی کنند و تنها به این بسنده کنند که به زن دست‌آموز، مطیع و خانگی مردان تبدیل شوند. امروزه هنوز بسیاری از زنان، پناه بردن به زیر چتر پوشش یک مرد را بهترین شیوه گریز از ستم دیگران می‌دانند. انان به ازدواج با مردی تن می‌دهند که دوستش ندارند و و در کنارش احساس لذتی نمی‌کنند. حقوق زنان همانند کسب آزادی، دادنی نیست و گرفتنی‌ست. زنان، خود باید در مطرح کردن خواسته‌ها و پیش‌برد آن‌ها نقش پررنگ داشته باشند. آزادی واقعی زنان هنگامی حاصل میشود که به آنان مسئولیت واگذار گردد و در فعالیت‌های تولیدی شرکت جویند و به مبارزات انقلابی بپیوندند. سهم زنان و مردان از انقلاب برابر است.

درباره کتاب

سانکارا در طی سخنرانی خود می‌خواهد بگوید اولا جایگاه تاریخی زن در دیروز بورکینافاسو چیست و دوما انقلاب بورکینافاسو چه دستاوردی برای زنان داشته و سوما انقلاب چه مسیری را برای پیشبرد اهداف انقلابی خود درباره‌ی زنان پیش روی خود دارد. او سلطه‌ی مردان بر زنان را دستاورد نظام پدرسالاری و پیدایش مالکیت خصوصی می‌داند؛ که هرجا مالکیت خصوصی باب شد، زنان هم از سوی مردان در چرخه‌ی این مالکیت در آمدند. سانکارا هشدار می‌دهد که در وجود هر مردی، روح برتری‌طلبی جنسی نفوذ کرده و مردان انقلابی اگر چنین خصیصه‌ای را از خود دور نکنند، به‌عنوان انقلابیون نصفه و نیمه، از گردونه‌ی نیروهای انقلابی دور خواهند شد
او مشکلات بزرگ زنان در بورکینافاسو را استمثمار مادی و مالی، عدم تساوی دستمزد زن و مرد، خودفروشی ناشی از فقر، مشکلات بحرانی بهداشتی، ازدواج اجباری زیر/بالای سن قانونی، قطع آلت جنسی زنانه و عدم بسترهای قانونی برای حمایت از زنان مطرح می‌کند و پاشنه‌ی آشیل تداوم چنین وضعیتی را بی‌سوادی و فقدان آگاهی سیاسی می‌داند: هرجا زنان به امکانات تحصیلی دسترسی بیشتری داشته باشند، با قدم‌های شتابان‌تری به سوی برابری گام بر می‌دارند. از این روست که او به وزارت آموزش و پرورش دستور اکید می‌دهد تا سوادآموزی زنان را به جد دنبال کند. همچنین وزارت دادگستری نیز مسئول تغییر قوانین مربوط به ازدواج، طلاق و مهریه به مثابه ارزش کالایی زن می‌کند و نظارت بر امور دیگر ارگان‌ها در پیشبرد برابری زن و مرد نیز بر عهده وزارت‌خانه مذکور قرار می‌گیرد
سانکارا یکی دیگر از مصادیق استثمار زنان را "کار بی‌مزد در خانه" می‌داند:

خانه‌داری - کاری که برایش مزدی هم دریافت نمی‌کنید - تمام انرژی شما را تحلیل می‌برد، بی‌رحمانه به شما صدمه می‌زند و شما زنان را به موجودی تبدیل می‌کند که نه انرژی و توانی برای فکر کردن دارد و نه وقت آن را. از این پس باید کلیه وظایف خانه بطور مساوی میان زن و مرد تقسیم گردد.

او همچنین خواستار اقداماتی‌ست نظیر ساخت شیرخوارگاه‌ها، مهدکودک‌ها و استقاده از ابزارهای صنعتی‌ست تا زن را از یوغ کار در منزل برهاند. (به عنوان مثال هر زن مسئولیت داشت مسافتی معادل 15 کیلومتر را در طی روز برای جمع‌آوری آب آشامیدنی بپیماید!)

سانکارا تاسیس یک وزارتخانه‌ی نمایشی با به کار گماشتن یک وزیر زن، بدون هیچ دستاورد عملی در حکومت قبلی را بشدت محکوم کرده و آن را جز نمایشی با ظاه�� فمینیستی برای عوام‌فریبی چیزی نمی‌داند. او در این خصوص چنین می‌گوید: امروز مقصود ما این نیست که زنان را به منظور نمایش قدرت بسیج کنیم و به پای صندوق‌های رای بکشانیم یا با ابزاری نظیر لفاظی پوچ برای اهداف دست چندم مورد سواستفاده قرار دهیم. منظور ما گرد آوردن زنان مبارز برای کسب پیروزی‌های گوناگون است

سانکارا سال‌ها پیش از آنکه انتقادات جهانی روشنفکران در مورد الگوسازی‌های غلط برای زیبایی زنان (هیکل باربی، جراحی‌های زیبایی آسیب‌زا) باب شود، به این موضوع اشاره می‌کند: زنان برای دستیابی به معیارهای زیبایی که جامعه به آنان القا کرده، باید به جسم خود صدمه بزنند. شما زنان بورکینابی به خودتان صدمه می‌زنید تا زمینه را برای صدمات بزرگتر و وسیع‌تر از جانب مردان آماده کنید
توماس سانکارا هفت ماه پس از این سخنرانی طی کودتایی توسط دوست و هم‌رزم سابق خویش، به همراه اکثر محافظان، دوستان و کابینه‌ی دولت کشته می‌شود. قاتل او "بلز کومپائوره"، 27 سال با حمایت لیبی، فرانسه و آمریکا به حکومت بر بورکینافاسو ادامه می‌دهد

[Sunny Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

exactly so true amazing

[Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book contains a very powerful speech delivered by Thomas Sankara the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso in March 1987 to commemorate International Women’s Day. Sankara was the leader of a revolutionary movement that gained controlled of Upper Volta in 1983, which later became Burkina Faso which means “The Land of Upright Men”; Sankara was Burkina Faso’s first prime minister. In this speech titled “The Revolution Cannot Triumph without the Emancipation of Women”, Sankara puts women and men as the central focus. Sankara makes the argument that emancipating women through ending systems of exploitation (stereotypical genders roles, prostitution, etc.) will help restore the “true image” of the man. Sankara diagnoses the problem by arguing that women began to suffer when society transitioned from a matriarchal to patriarchal system.

I would definitely call Sankara a feminist, after reading this speech. He calls out men who participate in “locker room” talk and those who don’t allow their wives to participate in politics. He also tells men that they should take up household tasks alongside their wives. Finally he encourages women to get more involved in the revolution. This is definitely an interesting speech that I think would produce fruitful discussions in college classes and other small group book discussions.

[zara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sankara understood the end of gender oppression as necessary for a revolutionary society, and he understood that the struggle to end patriarchal oppression needed to happen both at home/ in our everyday lives as well as in the political and economic spheres. At the same time, I worried about how much of the language he used ended up reinforcing sexist ideas. Still, I appreciated this essay collection and Sankara's analysis, as it is certainly ahead of its time and a much stronger analysis than many self-described revolutionaries have today.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Sankara, the man that you were...

[qamar⋆｡°✩ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5☆ — i really admire those who can explain concepts with such accessible language. i do understand the importance of jargon, particularly in political theory, but accessibility is key and a sign that someone truly understands + wholeheartedly believes in what they are talking about and sankara demonstrates this ability.

"Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see and my feet never take me to a society where half the people are held in silence. I hear the roar of women's silence. I sense the rumble of their storm and feel the fury of their revolt."

[Marike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this to everyone! It's a super short & easy read (very accessible language, repeats key ideas), about 50 pages. The way Sankara talks about women's struggle in relation to class struggle is an essential idea that is often forgotten or overlooked by male progressives or revolutionaries. It's in part specifically targeted towards the women of Burkina Faso, but at the same time contains a universal struggle.

"The genuine emancipation of women is that which entrusts responsibilities to them and involves them in productive activity and in the different struggles the people face. Women's genuine emancipation is one that exacts men's respect and consideration. Emancipation, like freedom, is not granted but conquered. It is for women themselves to put forward their demands and mobilize to win them.

For that, the democratic and popular revolution will create the necessary conditions to allow Voltaic women to realize themselves fully and completely. After all, would it be possible to eliminate the system of exploitation while maintaining the exploitation of women, who make up more than half our society?"

[Muhammed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inject it into my veins!

[Caroline Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought me to tears over and over.

[sheikha ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ really good, simple yet insightful and spot on considering that it was written by a man. oh thomas sankara the angel that u were!! forward to conquer the future!!! ✊🏾

[anne larouche · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Une lecture rassemblant 2 discours énoncés par Thomas Sankara en 1987. Pour un rapport à l’écrit de l’oral, on remarque la grande éloquence du penseur et leader politique. Considérant que le livre date de la fin de la période battante de la deuxième vague du féminisme, le livre est très pertinent. Sankara évoque avec succès les différentes intersections avec lesquelles la lutte féministe doit être combattue afin de porter vers une véritable société égalitaire entre les hommes et les femmes : on parle autant de classe, de race, de colonialisme, de capitalisme…

Bien que toute cette pensée soit articulée avec logique et réels intérêt & compréhension, je remarque cependant une petite (ou trop grande) touche d’essentialisme dans la pensée de Sankara. En effet, s’il reconnaît que les inégalités ne devraient pas avoir lieu et surtout pas en se basant sur une inégalité physique, il ne peut s’empêcher de décrire le caractère et les comportements féminins dans un certain axe traditionnel. Cependant, le reste de sa logique s’inscrit dans une certaine déconstruction de cela. Je ne peux pas m’empêcher de trouver curieuse cette contradiction, mais ça reste un livre pointu d’exactitude pour le reste. En gros : les bonnes causes sauf une partie, puis les bonnes solutions. Pour deux discours énoncés par un homme en 1987, on a déjà vu pire. En fait, cela confirme que Sankara mérite bien sa reconnaissance pour son féminisme. À lire absolument si vous souhaitez vous intéresser à l’histoire de l’Afrique de l’ouest dans une perspective féministe!

[Nicole Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this for the most part. It is very progressive considering both the time it was written and the fact that it was written by a man from a pretty patriarchal society. That said, I struggled at parts that sounded like gender determinism and, on the odd occasion, infantilisation of men (women needing to be the mothers of all men) which (unintentionally I am sure) felt like it took a little of the responsibility from men and put it onto women. At times it felt like women were being put on a pedestal (complete with the superhuman expectations and responsibilities) rather than treated like equal humans and that motherliness and conventional female roles were still expected of women, for the betterment of their country. Both of these ideas were countered later but also popped up again later still so I’m not entirely sure what to make of that. As far as I can tell, this is due to the era in which this speech was written and performed.
Reading this, it feels like truly great loss for Burkina Faso that Thomas Sankara was assassinated, and so young too..

[Milkeyyy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate Blaise Compaoré so much it's unbelievable

[rie · Rating 5 out of 5]

meanwhile, leftists (men) on Twitter are refusing to acknowledge gender based oppression as a real system

[Edeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

every god damn leftist organisation needs to read this right now. too often is sexism pushed aside in the left for a ‘larger issue’ or having it be seen as liberal. how many times do we have to learn the same lessons. read this rn.

[E Money The Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Ibrahim Traoré continues to make his rounds in western media as a tyrant, it is important to look back at history. Oftentimes those we are told to hate are simply figureheads to larger movements for freedom and sovereignty. Ultimately it is the movement itself the West fears. The people.

This speech (well, two speeches albeit the 2nd ones far shorter) is on the liberation of women. Sankara argues that any revolution in Africa that fails to lift up, include, and oftentimes be lead by women, will be destined to fail.

It’s gripping and ahead of its time. Definitely worth the two sittings it took me to go through.

Sankara traces the change in social organization along gender that came with the forced introduction of capitalism by Europe.

“The protective tenderness of the woman towards the family and clan became a trap that delivered her up to domination by the male. Love was made a mockery of and human dignity scorned. All genuine human feelings were transformed into objects of barter.”

The objects of barter being themselves. Their souls and bodies.

He then lays out plans for liberation and the importance of the role of women in organizing that liberation. And not just the liberation of women but all of Burkina Faso.

Goes without saying that it is a travesty that the West assassinated this man and replaced him with an actual tyrant. Hopefully today, now that the people of Burkina Faso come up once again against colonialism, they will win.

[kripsoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among the many useful titles on women's liberation published by Pathfinder Press sits a gem of a pamphlet titled Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle. It contains the full text of a speech given by Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary leader of the West African country Burkina Faso (formally Upper Volta) until his assassination in 1987

Sankara gives his speech to thousands of Burkinabe women gathered to commemorate International Women's Day on March 8, 1987. His speech is bereft of the dogma and the rhetoric normally seen in capitalist politicians and is remarkably direct but sincere.

Sankara devotes a good portion of the speech detailing the specific challenges confronting African women in pursuit of their liberation on the continent. Based on a Marxist understanding of the development of class society he points to this fact as the origin of women's oppression.

Sankara puts the fight of Burkinabe women as part of the struggle for women's liberation world wide. A special strength of the speech is when Sankara stresses how the emancipation of women goes hand in hand with "the struggle for the rehabilitation of our continent"

For supporters of women's rights this pamphlet is a must read

[leti lo yeti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le parole non bastano per descrivere l'importanza delle idee di Sankara e la loro forza rivoluzionaria. Ho pensato a lungo a quale frase poter trascrivere per dare un'idea a chi leggerà questa recensione di quanto questi discorsi siano importanti, ma ogni singola parola contenuta in questo testo è preziosa, e staccarla dal suo discorso le farebbe un disservizio. Non mi sento di poter dire molto altro di fronte a quello che ho imparato da queste pagine.
Lettura essenziale, che consiglio a tutt*.

[hashoun · Rating 5 out of 5]

necessary and enjoyable read, any revolution without the emancipation of women is a failure.

[Nick Girvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much worth the hour or so time investment. A brief background on Sankara and a deep dive in the form of a speech that tackles the question of women in the revolution makes for a smooth read. Definitely applicable to nations all over the world, through the lens of a women’s struggle in Burkina Faso. I like that it brings to the surface issues that are often overlooked, but imperative in understanding the class struggle.

[Dasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Sankara's speech and so much of what he discussed showed a great understanding of the struggle of women, both sufferers of colonial and economic oppression but also oppression by patriarchal forces. I appreciated his acknowledgment that prostitution is not liberation but rather an activity that further subjects women to sexual and economic coercion by men. My one issue with his phrasing is the constant calling on women as mothers, sisters, and daughters. In many ways, this way of wording women's roles ties their existence to the family (centred around a patriarch) or a man himself. However, considering Sankara's discussions around marriage I don't think it was intended to come off this way.

[Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much gold star materialist feminism. From explaining how women's role in society came to be to how it can be changed, Sankara remains on point. These are the thoughts of someone who enabled very genuine and material progress for women and it shows. Yes, it's in a way heteronormative and bound to tradition, but not in a way that sees these factors as prerequisites for its proposals.

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jede*r sollte das lesen – vor allem (linke) Männer sollten das lesen!
Wenige Aussagen stossen einem bisschen auf aber die muss man im Kontext der Zeit sehen.
Hat mich sehr bewegt und mitgerissen! :)

[simuteane · Rating 4 out of 5]

”You have touched the women, you have struck a rock. You have dislodged a boulder, you will be crushed.”
This was a really nice read. Sankara knows how to write an impactful and clear text. I found both speeches in this book coherent and very moving. I really liked the explanation of how we’ve gotten to the oppression women face in our time, how and why men and empires oppress women. The collation of women’s oppression, the proletariat struggle, African liberation and revolution in general was super comprehensible. Both speeches in this book really inspired me at times.
However, I felt disappointed when, throughout the text, women were being referred to as something related to the man, a mother, sister and wife. While I can see how one wouldn’t be completely wrong saying that, because, after all, in a binary-gendered world that praises men, what is a woman if not his opposite, inferior companion? But still, much more progressive feminist ideas were floating around at the time if not before it, so I did expect something better than this.
I’d say this is a good beginner-friendly text, I find that leftist literature can seem difficult to get into if one immediately starts reading heavy, complex texts, so this is definitely a good place to start, especially if you want to see things through a feminist lens that focuses on women’s rights.
There is no true social revolution without the liberation of women!!!!!!!

[Bek (MoonyReadsByStarlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

These speeches emphasize women's liberation as key to a truely liberated society. The ideas of women's emancipation reach far beyond traditional liberal ideas, and he stresses the importance of men changing their behavior in all of this as well. I am looking forward to learning more both about his leadership and the organizing done by the women of Burkina Faso.

While there are definitely limitations, they are largely expected given the time period. You would be hard pressed to find another male politician coming close to speaking about solidarity with women in such a way in most places in the 80s.

[kat ࿐ྂ ༉‧₊˚✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most important text you’re ever going to read.

A good start to get an understanding of who Thomas Sankara was. His words are so powerful and moving that you have no choice but to get consumed by them. We can all learn so much from him.

“Comrades, forward to conquer the future.
The future is revolutionary.
The future belongs to those who struggle.
Homeland or death, we will win!”

Thomas Sankara you will ALWAYS be famous.

[Juliette van der Wal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only the incredibly based and morally correct die young😔

[Jerome Berglund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wild stuff. A must read if you care to understand why Marxism is at the core of and fundamental to achieving true and lasting feminism. Also contains invaluable historical analysis of how existing patterns of subjugation came to be, and supports their being a recent phenomenon rather than something immutable our species is programmed for.

e.g. "For millennia, from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age, relations between the sexes were, in the opinion of the most skilled paleontologists, positive and complementary in character. So it was for eight millennia! As Frederick Engels explained to us, relations were based on collaboration and interaction, in contrast to the patriarchy, where women’s exclusion was a generalized characteristic of the epoch. Engels not only traced the evolution of technology but also of the historic enslavement of women, which occurred with the appearance of private property, when one mode of production gave way to another, and when one form of social organization replaced another…."