đ âWomanâ – Celebrating The Legacy of West African Women đ
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SPOTIFY Â Â Â AUDIOMACK Â Â Â BOOMPLAY Â Â Â APPLEÂ Â Â Â YOUTUBE Â Â Â TIDAL Â Â Â AMAZON Â Â Â DEEZER
As part of the campaign, âWIYAALA UNLEASHES ELEVEN NEW SONGS IN ELEVEN WEEKS,â I am thrilled to present Week 3 of 11. Every Friday from 31st May through to August 9th, 2024, I’m releasing new songs which I hope will enlarge your music experience. This week I’m dropping âWOMANâ
In the days of pre-colonial West Africa, women were shaking up the whole systemâŠâŠthat was before colonialism.
Female leaders were as common as male rulers. Not only were they queens, they were powerhouses. You probably know some of them, Yennanga, Yaa Asantewaa and Atinpaga. The spiritual female principle was esssential for building strong communities.
Then came colonialism and women’s authority was undermined by western social and religious doctrine. The advent of colonialism led to the marginalization of women. Colonial administration policies favored men, relegating women to the background. Women lost control over land and means of survival due to these policies.
But they resisted. Women safeguarded the cultural practices that empowered them. They organised strikes, boycotts and demonstrations. The âWomen’s Warâ protest in 1929 Nigeria is a powerful example. Women learned about legal rights and mechanisms. Some became lawyers to challenge descriminatory laws and practices. More recently, Ghanaian women have advocated for the passage of an affirmative action bill aiming to increase women’s participation in government and public boards.
So next time you hear âWomanâ, it’s not just a tune, it’s a movement.