To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > Health & Body Feb. 8, 2000 URL: http://www.salon.com/health/sex/urge/world/2000/02/08/africa Burkina Faso women break their silence on forced vows Gender equality is guaranteed under the 1991 constitution, but in practice, change has come slowly for the largely rural, illiterate populace. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Hank Hyena Traditional customs die slowly, particularly in low-literacy nations like Central Africa's Burkina Faso where women and girls are still regarded as property that can be traded. While urban governments legislate a plethora of progressive decrees, their attempts at enlightenment are often dismissed in the countryside where ancient prejudices prevail. With 84.6 percent of the population living in rural areas this means change, in reality, touches very few. Gender equality was guaranteed in Burkina Faso's 1991 constitution, but women and girls remain miles away from authentic liberation. Last month, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women convened to strategize against its greatest concerns: forced marriage, wife inheritance, polygamy, violence against women, illiteracy and accusations of witchcraft. Young Burkinabe girls are often coerced into matrimony because customs regard them as "property to be given away as a gift for a friend, a medium of exchange, or to be used for immediate or future interests," according to a report on the Jan. 28 M2 Presswire. Although these "forced marriages" are illegal, ignorance of the law abounds in a country where 92 percent of the women are illiterate, cannot afford legal action and are geographically isolated from courts. On an encouraging note, the committee praised Burkina Faso's success at abolishing female genital mutilation, or clitorectomies, and urged the nation to assume leadership in eradicating the horrific practice from Africa. Burkinabe women were also congratulated for having taken the lead in accepting the female condom. Female activists in this landlocked country on the fringe of the Sahara deserve to be optimistic about their future. Rural migration into urban areas is gradually educating the populace and eradicating the misogynist notions of the past. The United Nations has launched several programs to elevate the status of women, and slowly, women are making tiny inroads into the political arena. Of the National Assembly's 111 representatives, 10 are women. salon.com | Feb. 8, 2000   - - - - - - - - - - - - About the writer Hank Hyena is a columnist for SF Gate, and a frequent contributor to Salon.