« Je trouvais que j'étais en train de sauver des Delphines » - Clémentine Yannagda (Burkina Faso) - 2/3

We continue our conversation with Clémentine Yannagda, a Burkinabè sexual and reproductive health rights activist. In the first part, she told us how she had to fight for her education. In this second part, she opens about the beginning of her advocacy for sexual and reproductive health after she lost her best friend Delphine to an unsafe abortion.

Clémentine was interviewed by Françoise Moudouthe in late 2019, as part of a global project documenting girls’ resistance. Nana Bruce-Amanquah and Chanceline Mevowanou edited the conversation into this three-part interview for our #GirlsResistWA series. You can learn more about the series here. 

Trigger Warning: This conversation contains mentions of violence and abuse that may be triggering for readers. Kindly take a moment to decide if you want to keep reading. If you proceed, we encourage you to focus on your well-being and stop reading at any point if you need to.

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What does resist and the word “resistance” mean to you?

For me, resistance means staying motivated, regardless of the obstacles when we are certain of what we want to do in life. To resist isn’t being rebellious; it’s staying focused on your commitments, and using adversity to succeed.

In the first part, you explained how you resisted to graduate high school. Was it your first act of resistance?

My first act of resistance was when I joined l’Association Burkinabè pour le Bien-Être Familial (ABBF – Eng: Burkinabè organization for family wellness). I found myself in this space where we could speak freely and where I had to overcome my shyness first. I was with elders, and I managed to get into the organisation, and I benefited from it because I owe all that I am today to that organisation. When I talk about overcoming shyness, leadership, and public speaking, this is where I was fully trained. I also learned my rights. I discovered that I had the same rights as a man. My family didn’t want me to be an activist in an organisation that advocates for sexual and reproductive health rights. But I was convinced I had to do it, especially because I wanted to honour my friend, Delphine.

Yeah, you said earlier that you sadly lost Delphine after she had an unsafe abortion.

Exactly. She had an unplanned pregnancy. As she was from the Mossi ethnic group, which didn’t accept out-of-wedlock pregnancies, she could have been banned from her family. She went to get an unsafe abortion that didn’t go well and killed her. She wasn’t much older than me, but she always managed to give me courage when I needed it. After she passed, I started advocacy work at ABBF to know my sexuality better and to be more responsible about it.

This didn’t go well with my guardian who thought that I started advocating because I became sexually active. My family didn’t want me to pursue my studies or to advocate within an organisation. I used my bike to move around, and they confiscated it. When I needed a document for school, they wouldn’t buy it for me. My older brother only paid for my tuition fees. I was overwhelmed with house chores to discourage me from pursuing my studies. But I was determined. I gave myself the means to resist. I planned with the little time I had, to both go to school and be present in the organisation, despite the restrictions. I managed to find the time to do it all: my studies, the house chores, and community life.

You dealt with strong opposition, but who were your allies? 

My allies were my maternal grandmother and in school, a classmate. They strongly supported me. I could also talk to the social facilitators and the young people at ABBF. Of course, I had my Bible. I prayed a lot. I asked God to guide and lead me. 

You just mentioned God and I realised that you sent me a picture of a Bible to represent your youth and your resistance. Can you tell me more about it? Why did you choose this item?  

I chose a Bible – one with a rosary – because it symbolises my strength. When I faced all the hardship I endured as a girl, I read the Bible, and I found the strength to go on. When I lost my parents, I didn’t know who to turn to. I wanted to give up, especially with my family pressuring me. I turned to the Bible and read passages that resonated with me. It gave me hope and the strength to go on. 

It appears that your individual resistance became collective when you decided to advocate with ABBF. What did joining a collective bring to your resistance?

I realised it was harder when one is alone. Within a group, there are various profiles and different ideas, there is strength in the numbers. It’s safer and more animated when we are together; people listen to you more. I experienced something that I would never wish for any girl. When I heard the story of how ABBF was founded, it resonated. I met girls who were going through the same things I was experiencing. So, we could share our stories. Together, we were stronger, and we could continue to resist. 

While being an activist within ABBF, was there a moment when you thought it was truly worth it? 

It was when ABBF allowed me to become a peer educator. That means that I was going to be trained, and then in return, I would be able to train my peers. My classmates would approach me in school to ask me about sexually transmitted infections, how to avoid pregnancy, or when they had been raped, they would ask me what to do. I felt great moral satisfaction by helping others. I knew I had to keep going. I inspired several young women, who saw me being brave enough to talk about sex in front of boys without being intimidated. They would ask me how to become like me. I wanted to succeed, to come back and talk to young girls and encourage them to succeed as well, despite the hardships.

I felt like I was saving other girls like Delphine. When classmates reached out to tell me they had a boyfriend or that they had an unplanned pregnancy, I could help them and advise them. I could prevent what happened to Delphine, whom I couldn’t save, from happening to them. 

What was your goal? What did you want to change in the world, or your life even by resisting?  

My goal was to prove that I didn’t need to be categorised because of my gender. My goal was to make people understand that women are capable and that we can occupy the same positions as men. Women can be as useful, if not more, than some men. I wanted to erase this idea of the housewife that society gives to women. I also wanted to prove to those who thought that I would fail or that getting pregnant would stop me, wrong. I wanted to prove to them that if I wanted it, I could succeed. 

We continue our conversation with Clémentine in the third part, where she shares her fears about her resistance and tells us how it evolved. Click here for the next part.