In Ouagalais slang, having an African Connection for a non-African means having a "relationship" with an African woman! Conversely, having a European Connection for a Burkinabè means having a "relationship" with a European. The social and financial attraction of a white person, male or female, is strong in Burkina where the system of extended families means that anyone who has an income will share it with the whole family in the broadest (possible) sense. However, the line between seduction and prostitution can often be very blurred.

The condition of women remains very problematic today, both in Burkina and in Belgium. In his own day Thomas Sankara was apt to say : "The Revolution and women's liberation go hand in hand. And it is not an act of charity or a flush of humanism to talk of the emancipation of women. It is a fundamental necessity for the triumph of the Revolution. Women hold up half the sky". That appeal is as true now as it ever was.

Illiteracy affects far greater numbers of women than men, especially in the countryside. Moreover Burkina is a very patriarchal society, where polyandry is forbidden while polygamy is widespread. Female genital mutilation is also widely practised. Religions in general still largely determine patterns of living, especially for women. "The only difference between selling your body for prostitution and selling yourself in marriage is the price and the length of the contract", as Thomas Sankara said! In Burkina, a "good match" is still synonymous with social success and plays an important role in many families regarding prestige, power and money. In Belgium the "marriage model" is also still very common and generates its own share of trouble, whether inter-personal (jealousy, lies, possessiveness), psychological (fusion, loss of freedom and individuality) or societal (blinkered patriarchal logic).

Even if women are revered in Burkinabè culture, in practice the majority of women are considered inferior: some have to get up at five in the morning to sweep the yard, cook, do the washing, look after the children, go to the market, sell this and that on pain of being beaten by their husband or facing social or family disapproval. It's rare to see a woman or groups of women drinking tea or talking for hours on end (most of the men's favourite activities) with all the work they have to do. In Belgium there may be gender equality on paper but women earn less than men, find it more difficult to get the top jobs and devote more time to household and childcare than do men. And who stands to gain? That is the question!

This composition is a sign of support for women the world over who wake their powers and who struggle for emancipation. It is based on a Zouglou rhythm from Côte d'Ivoire. Zouglou is a popular urban musical genre from Abidjan preaching justice and peace and based on a culture of love, friendship and fraternity.