42 Thomas Sankara Quotes On Women, Socialism And Revolution

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara is a true leader from Africa who worked on socialism, revolution, and women empowerment.

Thomas Sankara  (21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabé military officer and socialist. He served as the first President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987, and at the age of 33, he became the President of the Republic of Upper Volta.

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Thomas Sankara believed that the fight for women’s equality was part of the fight for racial equality. The following are quotes by Thomas Sankara from the speech 'The revolution cannot triumph without the emancipation of women'. Commemorating International Women’s Day on 8 March 1987, Thomas Sankara held a rally of several thousand women in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. Here are a few of his quotes about the woman.

1."Paternal right replaced maternal right. Property was now handed down from father to son, rather than as before from the woman to her clan. The patriarchal family made its appearance, founded on the sole and personal property of the father, who had become head of the family. Within this family the woman was oppressed."

- Thomas Sankara.

2.“Our country produces enough to feed us all. Alas, for lack of organization, we are forced to beg for food aid. It’s this aid that instills in our spirits the attitude of beggars.”

- Thomas Sankara Speaks: 'The Burkina Faso Revolution: 1983'.

3."I Can Hear the roar of Women's Silence."

― Thomas Sankara.

4."Women hold up the other half of the sky."

― Thomas Sankara.

5."Comrades! There is no true social revolution without the liberation of women."

― Thomas Sankara.

6.“The condition of women is therefore at the heart of the question of humanity itself, here, there, and everywhere.”

― Thomas Sankara, 'Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle'.

7.“By changing the social order that oppresses women, the revolution creates the conditions for their genuine emancipation.”

-Thomas Sankara.

8.“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.”

― Thomas Sankara, 'Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle'.

9."The revolution and women’s liberation go together. We do not talk of women’s emancipation as an act of charity or because of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the triumph of the revolution."

– Thomas Sankara.

10."The revolution cannot triumph without the emancipation of women."

– Thomas Sankara.

11.“The woman leads a twofold existence indeed, the depth of her social ostracism being equally only by her stoic endurance."

― Thomas Sankara.

The history reveals that Sankara commanded a radical project of socialist transformation. Find below are some of the famous Thomas Sankara quotes on socialism.

12."I want people to remember me as someone whose life has been helpful to humanity."

-Thomas Sankara.

13."You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness."

-Thomas Sankara.

14."Without patriotic political education, a soldier is only a potential criminal."

-Thomas Sankara.

15."May my eyes never see and my feet never take me to a society where half the people are held in silence."

-Thomas Sankara.

16."Never be shamed of being Afrikan."

-Thomas Sankara.

17."Imperialism often occurs in more subtle forms, a loan, food aid, blackmail. We are fighting this system that allows a handful of men on Earth to rule all of humanity."

-Thomas Sankara.

18."No altar, no belief, no holy book have ever been able to reconcile the rich and the poor, the exploiter and the exploited. And Jesus himself had taken the whip to chase them from his temple. It is indeed because that is the only language they hear."

- Thomas Sankara.

To date, Thomas Sankara is renowned in society as Sankara's revolutionary era still resonates with many citizens even today. Find below are some of the revolutionary Thomas Sankara quotes.

19."If we do not pay, lender will not die; if we pay we will die. we cannot pay and we don't want to pay."

-Thomas Sankara.

20."The Revolution and women's liberation go together we don't talk women's emancipation as an act of charity or because of surge of human compassion."

-Thomas Sankara.

21."The enemies of a people are those who keep them in ignorance."

-Thomas Sankara.

22."We must learn to live the African way. It's the only way to live in freedom and with dignity."

-Thomas Sankara.

23."Everything that man can imagine, he is capable of creating."

-Thomas Sankara.

24."A military without political training is a potential criminal."

-Thomas Sankara.

25.“We are not against progress, but we do not want progress that is anarchic and criminally neglects the rights of others.”

-Thomas Sankara.

26.“We must dare to invent the future.”

-Thomas Sankara.

27.“The spirit is smothered, as it were, by ignorance, but so soon as ignorance is destroyed, spirit shine forth, like the sun when released from clouds.”

-Thomas Sankara.

28.“Debt is a cleverly managed reconquest of Africa. It is a reconquest that turns each one of us into a financial slave.”

-Thomas Sankara.

29.“While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas.”

-Thomas Sankara.

30."A soldier without political education is a potential criminal."

– Thomas Sankara.

31."The French revolution taught us the rights of man."

-Thomas Sankara.

32."Let there be an end to the arrogance of the big powers who miss no opportunity to put the rights of the people in question. Africa’s absence from the club of those who have the right to veto is unjust and should be ended. "

-Thomas Sankara.

33."He who feeds you controls you."

-Thomas Sankara.

34."It took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen. We must dare to invent the future."

-Thomas Sankara.

35."When people stand up, imperialism trembles."

-Thomas Sankara.

36."We make every effort to see that our actions live up to our words and be vigilant with regard to our behavior."

-Thomas Sankara.

37."Our revolution in Burkina Faso draws on the totality of man's experiences since the first breath of humanity. We wish to be the heirs of all the revolutions of the world, of all the liberation struggles of the peoples of the Third World."

-Thomas Sankara.

38."We have to work at decolonizing our mentality and achieving happiness within the limits of sacrifice we should be willing to make."

- Thomas Sankara.

39. "We have to recondition our people to accept themselves as they are, not to be ashamed of their real situation, to be satisfied with it, to glory in it, even."

- Thomas Sankara.

40. "He who does not feed you can demand nothing of you."

- Thomas Sankara.

41."Under its current form, that is imperialism-controlled, debt is a cleverly managed re-conquest of Africa, aiming at subjugating its growth and development through foreign rules. Thus, each one of us becomes the financial slave, which is to say a true slave."

- Thomas Sankara.

42."Inequality can be done away with only by establishing a new society, where men and women will enjoy equal rights."

- Thomas Sankara, 8 March 1987, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Thomas Sankara Quotes then why not take a look at [women's rights quotes], or I have a dream speech quotes.