Women and Islam in Urban Burkina Faso

This chapter deals with the differences in the discourse and practice, in definitions and interpretations of the concept of piety among women in urban Burkina Faso and in the wider West African context. The ethno-graphic material was collected during several field trips since 2000. I take the lives and words of two Burkinabé women as my point of departure toward understanding the differences and similarities in the way women understand and practice Islam in urban Burkina Faso. The discussion is divided into two major parts: First, I introduce the history of Islam in Burkina Faso, followed by the local definitions of a pious woman. In the second and main part of the chapter, I discuss the experiences of two Muslim women in the large town of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. Although the two narratives can potentially represent many Burkinabé women, it is my intention to avoid generalizations and let their life histories and ethnographic account of my interactions with them speak for themselves. This approach follows the more recent tradition in anthropology of Africa, whereby writing in detail about one or more informants provides space for the informants to reveal themselves fully to the reader. ¹ By allowing the informants to speak, anthropologists also help to dispel the still-present distorted image of Africa “as a static, timeless, and separated land.” ² Furthermore, the presented discussion contributes to addressing the important notion that society in urban West Africa is “fragmented, multiethnic and multilingual.” ³ The constraints of a community's demands on its members thereby must be seen in combination with processes of individualization that are emerging in the rapidly changing circumstances of everyday existence in urban West Africa. The ethnographic material presented in this chapter could be the basis for a variety of discussions; however, this chapter focuses mainly on the aspect of female piety and submissiveness.