Thomas Sankara et la condition féminine: un discours révolutionnaire?

2.2. A SPEECH POLEMIZES

In the speech of March 8, 1987, Sankara dissociates speeches reactionaries and adopts a polemical language. Its remarks tally well with the thought of E. Balibar which declares: « if the language (...) is « indifferent » to the division of the classes and their fight, it is not followed from there that the classes are « indifferent » with the language. They use it, on the contrary, in a way given in the field of their antagonism, in particular of their political struggle. »^166(*)

Sankara rebuilt, in its feminist speech, the company according to a vision manichéenne: partisans on a side and enemies of the other. This a little simplistic image has virtues of propaganda. It makes it possible to reduce in a teaching way, the complexity of the problems arising. It can be used as reference to the people to dissociate what is inside the revolution of what is external for him.

2.2.1. Partisans of the female cause

The democratic and popular revolution, the proletariat, the farmers, the women gathered within the UFB constitute, with the eyes of Sankara, the partisans of the female cause. All in all, all the revolutionists convinced of the fight against any kind of exploitation militate in favor of the emancipation of the woman. Those work together to achieve major goals like the access of the women to all the starch pastes, the abolition of the prostitution, the participation of the women in the decision-makings and the exercise of the popular capacity. The advent of the revolution is presented in the form of a victory of the partisans of the improvement of the female condition. The revolution is a vector of freedom as expresses it following personification: « But only one night carried the woman in the middle of family rise and with the center of national solidarity. Carrying freedom, the dawn consecutive of August 4, 1983 made him echo for overall, equal, interdependent and complementary, we went coast to coast, as only one people. »^167(*) This personification, by giving a humanity to the night of August 4, confers a power to him and pushes the audience (here women) to believe in the advent of a new social order. Concerning the emancipation of the woman, the RDP already prepared the ground of the combat. Always using of personification, Sankara notes: « The democratic and popular revolution created the condition of such a combat liberator. »^168(*) It continues in the same direction while affirming: «  Thus our revolution specified not only the objective to be reached in the question of the fight of emancipation of the woman. But it also indicated the way to be followed, the means to implement and the principal actors of this combat. »^169(*).

The repetition in the assertion which follows watch the place and the role impossible to circumvent which must assume the UFB: « Organization of mass, come late compared to others, it is not therefore in margin of our victorious walk and we make confidence with the UFB so that all the women, all our women, any woman and all the society women whole are mobilized. »^170(*) The employment of « all (S) » and of « entirety » gives a universal dimension to the UFB whose operating range has limits only the poles. There is a will here obvious to exaggerate the importance of the UFB, and therefore, of the task which is assigned to him, in order to incite the women with the action. This vastness of the combat that the women must undertake within the framework of their organization is underlined by Sankara: « the task is thus hard. »^171(*) What makes say to the revolutionary leader that one of the major assets of the RDP was the creation of the UFB, arms with combat for the Women's Liberation. Indeed the advent of this female structure revolutionary which considering the day in 1985, mark the starter of a transformation of mentalities on the level of the women.^172(*) They « take part more and more in the decision-makings, the effective exercise of the popular capacity. »^173(*)

To take stock of the assets of the revolution, Sankara gives a dimension exaggerated to the work of the RDP. It affirms: « Our revolution, during the three years and half, oeuvé with the progressive elimination of the practices devaluing by the woman, such as the neighbouring prostitution and practices like the vagrancy and the delinquency of the girls, the forced marriage, the excision and the particularly difficult conditions of the woman. »^174(*). All these evils come under the field of mentalities and their elimination cannot be carried out in if little time. This speech is thus propagandist and aims at putting forward the hugeness of the combat carried out by the revolution. It aims to cause the warlike action, to push energies by a conditioning of the spirits

Can one really locate the border between the assets of Sankara and his projects of Sankara? When this last affirms: « While contributing to solve the problem of water everywhere, while also contributing to the installation of the mills in the villages, by popularizing the improved hearths, by creating popular nurseries, as a practitioner vaccination with the daily newspaper, incentive with the food healthy, abundant, varied, the revolution without any doubt contributes to improve the living conditions of the woman burkinabé »^175(*), The setting on standby of the revolution term associated with the expression « without any doubt » confers on the RDP an undeniable force of action, which contributes to handle of advantage the audience. The RDP is given like mission of returning justice to the woman, justice which the enemies of the female cause deny to him.

* ¹⁶⁶ E. BALIBAR quoted by PECHEUX (M), the Truths of the palice. Semantic linguistics and philosophy, Paris, French Maspero, 1975, p. 89.

* ¹⁶⁷ GAKUNZI (D), COp cit., p. 233.

* ¹⁶⁸ GAKUNZI (D), COp cit., p. 234.

* ¹⁶⁹ GAKUNZI (D), COp cit., p. 234.

* ¹⁷⁰ GAKUNZI (D), COp cit., p. 177.

* ¹⁷¹ GAKUNZI (D), COp cit., p. 177.

* ¹⁷² GAKUNZI (D), op.cit, p. 235.

* ¹⁷³ GAKUNZI (D), COp cit., p. 235.

* ¹⁷⁴ GAKUNZI (D), COp cit., p. 235.

* ¹⁷⁵ GAKUNZI (D), COp cit., p. 235.