[03-08-1987] Thomas Sankara: The revolution cannot triumph without the emancipation of women

The revolution cannot triumph without the emancipation of women

The specific character of women’s oppression

Woman’s fate is bound up with that of the exploited male. This is a fact. However, this solidarity, arising from the exploitation that both men and women suffer and that binds them together historically, must not cause us to lose sight of the specific reality of the woman’s situation. The conditions of her life are determined by more than economic factors, and they show that she is a victim of a specific oppression. The specific character of this oppression cannot be explained away by setting up an equal sign or by falling into easy and childish simplifications.

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Foreign Policy of Russian Tsardom

Foreign Policy of Russian Tsardom

It is true, that whoever reads Russian newspapers, might suppose that all Russia enthusiastically applauds the Tsar’s policy of conquest; in them there is nothing but Jingoism, Panslavism, the deliverance of Christians from the Turkish, of Slavs from the German and Magyar, yoke. But, firstly, every one knows in what chains the Russian press lies bound; secondly, the Government itself has for years fostered this Jingoism and Panslavism in all schools; and thirdly, these newspapers express — so far as they express any sort of independent opinion, only the opinion of the town population, i.e. of the newly-created Bourgeoisie, naturally interested in new conquests as extensions of the Russian home market.

The Semantics of “Socialism” in a Changing World

The Semantics of “Socialism” in a Changing World

Around the world, the terms “Socialism” and “Communism” suddenly took on new meanings, once again. Socialism referred to patriotic, anti-Soviet political organizations that sought to get elected, and gradually transition toward a more egalitarian society, one step at a time. Communism referred to the parties aligned with the Soviet Union that adopted Marxism-Leninism as their ideology and ultimately sought to seize power in a revolutionary situation. However, the Communist Parties were also always critical of “ultra-leftism” and calls for violence, and the Soviet Union urged them to not be parties of extremism, isolated from the masses of people.