Global Policy Forum

By Abdoulaye Gandema

The women of Burkina Faso are demanding their share of a 700 million US dollar windfall that comes to the government through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

Classified among the poorest countries of the African continent, Burkina Faso recently benefited from the cancellation of half of its foreign debt. The cancellation was granted within the framework of the HIPC and amounts to 700 billion US dollars (more than 450 billion CFA).

The International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have asserted that Burkina Faso has met the conditions stipulated in the Initiative and is thus eligible for the first phase of debt cancellation which, in this case is approximately 400 million dollars. [NOTE: Find the official IMF document here. (2.3 MB) You need Adobe Acrobat to view it.]

And after evaluating the sustained social and structural reforms as well as the commitment of the country to reducing poverty, the IDA and the IMF estimate that Burkina is eligible to receive additional assistance of 300 million dollars. Thus, the country has some extra 700 million dollars at its disposal.

Although the authorities indicate that they would like to allocate these resources to the social sector, the women have demanded that the government specify what belongs to them at the outset.

"It is necessary that Burkinabe women concretely see their fair share of this benefit which will enable them to fight poverty and achieve a better future," affirmed Madeleine Ouangrawa, head of Burkina Faso's Coalition of Women's Associations and NGOs.

The women have already defined their priorities. Although the majority thinks an investment in women's education is the way to go, a great number believe that the money should ensure economic freedom for those who make up over half of Burkina Faso's 11 million people.

For Ouangrawa, who took part in the Special General Assembly of the United Nations held in New York in June, the priority must be given to education. The June meeting was held to review the progress nations had made in implementing the Beijing Platform of Action, adopted at the fourth World Conference on Women in China in 1995.

"It was shown in New York that there is an intrinsic link between poverty and level of education," explained Ouangrawa. "When a country agrees to make the effort to educate its population, both men and women, the benefits are automatically felt in hygiene, health and citizenship," she said.

Amadou Yaro, an accountant, said, "I would have liked to see this reduction accompanied by certain conditions. The government should inject this surplus in the social sectors, with accountability ... History abounds with examples of countries which have received a lot of money only to squander it."

Between 1995 and 1997, Burkina Faso devoted 3.6 percent of its Gross National Product (GNP) annually to education. But in spite of these efforts, this Sahelian country has one of the lowest levels of education in the world. In 1997, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the rate of primary education was only 25 percent for boys and 16 percent for girls.

Burkinabe women indicate that they want to take an active part in the economic development of their country. They hope that the authorities will stress the economic independence of women. "It is not possible to have emancipation without economic independence. It is necessary for us to stress to the authorities the need to give women the means of becoming true agents of development, instead of simply being consumers," says journalist Nathalie Some. "We must assure that in each field, the programmes include co-ordination of programmes between non-governmental organisations, the government and the media," Some said.

The Summit in New York had invited governments to create development funds for women. These funds would make it possible for the beneficiaries to prove that they have managerial capacities sometimes better than those of men. Usually, the women receive small loans from institutions such as the Funds for the Support of the Gainful Activities of Women (FAARF). But these cannot come close to solving the numerous problems women have.

Clementine Ouedraogo, president of Promo-Femmes-Developpement, an association which assists women on administrative and domestic matters, says women should be given subsidies to satisfy their economic needs. "Poverty in most areas is so severe that the small credit is not sufficient. When the women refund their loans, then, with 100 percent repayment, that does not mean they are doing well; it means that not to lose face within their community, some prefer to be impoverished more, even going to the extent of selling their goods, to refund these credits," affirms Ouedraogo.

The women, who constitute 52 percent of the population of Burkina Faso, produce nearly 80 percent of the agricultural production. However, because of socio-cultural situations, women are prevented from fully playing their role as catalysts of development. Moreover, Marie Gisele Guigma, Minister for the Promotion of Women, thinks that sociological situations block women from following up on recommendations from the Beijing Conference. "If efforts are not made at this level, it will slow down the effort of promoting women," she says.

In the 1980s, the government tried to take up the challenge of achieving equality between the sexes by observing March 8 as the International Day of the Woman. After Beijing, a Ministry for the Promotion of the Woman was created. But these actions are not considered sufficient today.

"It is not enough to set up a ministry in charge of women's question," says Ouangrawa. "It is very important to give them the means of functioning well, so that they can make sure that each ministry is promoting women effectively," she adds.

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