U2, Bono, made a quick trip to Lagos last week. His mission: To lend his powerful voice to the brand new version of Strong Girl, a rallying ‘war’ song for women’s empowerment that initially featured a coterie of female artists including Yemi Alade, Waje, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, and Selmor Mtukudzi among others.
But then Bono, co-founder of ONE, the brain behind the project, was not the only male voice in the remix. Africa’s top male artists like Femi Kuti, D’banj, Diamond, and Banky also joined forces with Bono. Cobhams Asuquo is producing the song.
According to ONE, all the artists are adding their voices to Strong Girl’s call for action because “Poverty is Sexist, and we won’t end it unless world leaders act now to help girls and women reach their full potential.”
Commenting on the project, Bono said: “The strong men here are backing singers, or at best amplification for the Strong Girl phenomenon. Something extraordinary is happening right under our nose. ONE is part of a social movement that is centred on 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.”
On her part, Omotola stated: “Women and girls everywhere are disadvantaged from the moment they are born. Who doesn’t want their sisters, daughters, and 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.”
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 of economic opportunity. 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.”
Dr Sipho S. Moyo¸ ONE’s Africa Executive Director, explained: “The world is at a cross roads. We can choose the path of justice and fairness by investing in girls and women, or we can let this golden opportunity slip through our fingers. When leaders meet in New York this month, 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.”
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 13. It’s 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 so they can unleash their human, social, political and economic potential.
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