The motorcycles that buzz along the streets of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, have a story to tell
Nearly one person in seven in Burkina's population of 22 million has a motorbike, according to transport ministry figures for 2020.
Image: Olympia De Maismont / AFP©
The motorcycles that buzz along the streets of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, have a story to tell.
Once the preserve of men and a sign of male status in this West African country, today they are used ubiquitously by women—and are a prized tool of emancipation.
When Nigerian filmmaker Kagho Idhebor first came to Ouagadougou he was overwhelmed by how many women whizzed about on a motorbike.
"I'd never seen women drive with such attitude, such independence," he said. "There are more motorbikes than cars, and more women than men on these motorbikes."
He was so struck by the phenomenon that he made "Burkina Babes"—a documentary which ran at the pan-African FESPACO cinema and TV festival in Ouagadougou that ended last weekend.