Day African artistes lent voices to women rights advocacy

They all seemed to have something in common about women rights and empowerment. Thus, when the opportunity came for them to do something for a passion they so much are in love with, leading African male and female artistes who gathered to address journalists in Lagos, said they could not but give their all. Led […]

They all seemed to have something in common about women rights and empowerment. Thus, when the opportunity came for them to do something for a passion they so much are in love with, leading African male and female artistes who gathered to address journalists in Lagos, said they could not but give their all.
Led by Dr Sipho Moyo, the Executive Director of ONE, an international organisation, championing the rights of women and girl-child, the leading artistes including Nollywood diva, Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde, D’Banj, Waje, Selmor Mtukudzi, Diamond and Banky W as well as Bono, the co-founder of ONE  gathered to launch a remix of Strong Girl – a rallying cry/song for women’s empowerment that first got the world dancing in May 2015.
Strong Girl was originally written and recorded by Arielle T, Blessing, Gabriela, Judith Sephuma, Selmor Mtukudzi, Vanessa Mdee, Victoria Kimani, Waje and Yemi Alade in April, and released on May 13th.
 It is part of ONE’s Poverty is Sexist campaign, which calls on world leaders to implement smart policies and targeted investments in the health, education and economic empowerment of women and girls which can unleash their human, social, political and economic potential.
“This truly is an issue for the entire world. The fight for gender empowerment is inextricably tied to the fight against extreme poverty. But when you empower girls and women, you give global growth and justice a turbo boost,” Dr Moyo said.
Moyo further said: “We are doing this because we realized that the year 2015 is the deadline for the Millennium Development goals which of course is due for review when world leaders meet again in the next couple of weeks. We of course still want the issue of gender rights to be pushed forward in whatever policies that are likely to be introduced. And as such we are doing this to bring to the attention of all that matter that the issue of women rights and empowerment must remain at the front burner of discourse.”
The executive director further said the world is at a crossroad but that there is a need to choose the path of justice and fairness by investing in girls and women.
“When leaders meet in New York, they have the fate of the planet in their hands. If they truly work for the good of all, they must focus on boosting women’s access to health, economic empowerment, political participation and safety. Crucially it is up to African leaders to show the way and make this happen. We can make our continent a shining example for others to follow, but only if we make the right choices ahead of these global goals,” she said.
“This opportunity is once in a generation – while it’s up to leaders to do the right thing, it is up to every citizen of every country to make sure leaders do what they promised. People power and organizations – like ONE – are the best way to hold people to their word. Pledges for action are only as good as how accountable people who make the pledges really are,” she also said.
On her part, Omotola said as a woman, a daughter, a wife to her husband and a mother to her children, she understands the task ahead of women, especially in their quest to put in place a good home and sustain societal values.
She however decried the many challenges confronting the women folk inspite of their societal relevance.
“Women and girls everywhere are disadvantaged from the moment they are born. Who doesn’t want their sisters, daughters, nieces to have the same chances in life as their brothers, sons and nephews? That’s why this Strong Girl remix is so important. Our message is loud and it’s impossible to ignore, I hope that our leaders are listening,” Omotola said.
Speaking about the remix, D’Banj said: “We may be remixing Strong Girl but the message stays the same. Women and girls everywhere are held back, through lack of education and economic opportunities. This stops them from achieving their fullest potential. It’s not right and we must change this. The first step is changing this at home in Nigeria so we can show the world we are taking women’s empowerment seriously.”
Selmor Mtukudzi, a Zimbabwean musician who said despite taking after her father in the music industry, she had at one time or the other suffered undermining by the society which ordinarily should appreciate her for her work.
“Girls and women get a raw deal, especially in the developing world, and it’s time for everyone – men, women, girls and boys – to raise their voices as one and demand better. I sang on the original version because I saw how important it is to make this message loud, so now that some of my top male colleagues are adding their voices, I know that these lyrics will be impossible to ignore,” Selmor, said.
Waje, another leader singer said, “when we sing together, we sing louder, and when we sing louder, our leaders will hear our song. Joining forces with men for a Strong Girl remix keeps our call alive.
“Women and girls should not suffer because they are not men – we need to focus on women, the girl child and put laws in place to boost their education, health and wealth,” she said.
Also lending his voice to the campaign, Banky W said the time has come for people around the world to unite in making a case and fighting for the rights of women, adding that artistes are playing their roles with their music, but other stakeholders should not shirk in playing their’s too.
Bono, lead singer of U2 and co-founder of ONE said: “The strong men here are backing singers, or at best amplification for the Strong Girl phenomenon. Something extraordinary is happening right under our noses.
“ONE is part of a social movement that is centred around a brand new conversation between bright minds and impatient hearts North and South of the equator…ONE’s Poverty is Sexist campaign is part of that agenda.
“ONE has more members in Africa now than in Europe. In truth, we should have called ourselves HALF because only now are we becoming truly ONE.”
Also, Diamond, a leading artiste from Tanzania said he is passionate about the advocacy for women rights because he has firsthand experience of the pains and struggles of women having being raised by a single mother.
“I know music has powerful impact and it is an honour to know my music will help with such an important issue. Women and girls are the key to our future; it’s just up to leaders to prove they know this too. I’m calling on all my fans to add their voices too – we’ve got a great bunch of artists working on the Strong Girl remix – but we need their voices as well,” Diamond said.