| | 👋 Good morning. At the Oscars on Sunday, Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win Best Cinematography for her work on Sinners (and if you haven't seen the movie, fix up immediately). It's wild how long it took, but we're glad she finally broke that barrier. In her speech, she asked all the women in the room to stand and thanked them. So in that same spirit, we're asking you—the woman reading this—to stand up and feel proud. We see you. We recognize you. We respect you. | Coming up: | Profiles: A 'first-in-her-bloodline' hero & Sony's Morravey. The Extras: A historical fact you should know Community Townhall - (a surprise) for our new community joiners
| | | 🩸 FIRST IN HER BLOODLINE | Victoria Oladipo is the first woman to get a master's degree | | | | | | In Victoria Oladipo's family, education has always mattered. Teachers and educationists run through her bloodline, and the value of learning was never in question. | What had been missing, however, was opportunity. When Oladipo earned her master's degree in International Relations, she became the first woman in her family to do so. | You are the first woman in your bloodline to achieve something significant. What is it, and did you always know it would be you? | I'm the first woman in my bloodline to earn a master's degree. But I didn't always know it would be me. I come from a family of teachers and educationists, so education has always been valued. | Still, opportunities didn't always come easily for the women before me, even though many of them had the capacity for it. So when it happened for me, it felt like a continuation of something that had always been there in spirit. | Growing up, what did the women before you teach you, intentionally or unintentionally, about what was possible? | The women before me taught me strength and resilience, mostly through their actions. It wasn't always something they said outright; it was in the way they lived their lives and built things around them. Watching them shaped my understanding of what was possible. | In my family, many of the men had access to education, but the women carried the same values about learning and growth. Even without explicitly saying it, their lives showed me that there were possibilities beyond what had been available to them. | What resistance, whether subtle or loud, did you face when you chose this path? | Interestingly, I didn't really face resistance from my family. Because education is something my bloodline values deeply, everyone was actually very supportive. In many ways, they were cheering me on. | The real challenge sometimes came from outside perceptions. There were moments when people questioned whether my course of study was "solid" enough or worth pursuing. But I kept going because I wanted to prove that it was possible to succeed in my field, despite the stereotypes attached to it. | Was there a moment you realized you weren't just doing this for yourself but for the women coming after you? What did that feel like? | Honestly, I didn't really see it that way. I think everyone eventually chooses their own path. Even in my family, I have cousins and other women who don't want to pursue a master's degree, and that's completely fine. | For me, it wasn't about setting a rule that because I did it, everyone else has to do it too. People should be free to choose what works for them. My journey is simply my own. | If a girl in your family is watching you right now, what do you hope she learns from your journey? | I hope she learns to go after what she truly wants. That's probably the most important lesson I've taken from my own journey. | I went after what I wanted in my career, in my job, and in pursuing my master's degree. Even when people doubted the path I chose, I kept going because I believed it was worth it. If there's anything I hope a younger girl sees from my story, it's that she can pursue what matters to her and define success on her own terms. | Victoria Oladipo is the third woman to be spotlighted in our First in Her Bloodline segment. If you would like to be featured, reply now to this email. |
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| | | 👩🏽💼 THE EXECUTIVE | | Morravey traded a stethoscope for a microphone | | | | | Leaving medicine for music is not the kind of decision you make lightly, especially if you are from a Nigerian home where white-collar professions are held in the highest esteem. But for Morravey, it became a choice between two paths that demanded everything. | The Port Harcourt–born singer had to leave school, move to Lagos, and accept the distance from family that came with chasing music seriously. | Her voice soon caught Davido's attention, introducing her to a much wider audience, and she has since gone on to sign with Sony Music West Africa as her career continues to gather momentum. | You left medicine to make music. What did that cost you, and do you think it would've been harder if you were a man? | Leaving medicine to pursue music definitely came with sacrifices. One thing I always say is that I would have loved to finish school and graduate. | I still hope that one day I can complete that chapter of my life. But at the time, medicine required all of my time and attention, and music also demanded the same level of dedication. It became really difficult to balance both. | I also had to move to Lagos for music, which meant spending less time with my family because we were in different environments. That was a big adjustment for me. | At a certain stage in life, you realize that becoming who you're meant to be sometimes requires sacrifices. For me, that meant choosing my purpose and giving music the focus it deserved. | | You've described Davido as a father figure in a 2023 interview. But there's a particular kind of pressure that comes with being a young woman in a space that a powerful man opened for you, the question of whether you earned it. How do you handle that narrative? | I'm very grateful for the support that Davido has shown me. He has been a huge blessing to my career, and he's someone who has achieved so much globally. For someone like him to believe in me and choose to support my journey means a lot. | At the same time, I've always believed in my talent. I've been writing songs and singing for a long time, and even before working with him, I had received encouragement from different people in the industry who believed in what I was doing. | So while I'm grateful for the opportunity, I also know the work I've put in. I know who I am as an artist, and I know what I bring to the table. | You were criticized online for your outfit during the 5Alive tour. Male artists performing on the same stage never face that conversation. What do you want to say to the young women watching how that played out? | During the tour with Davido, what happened was honestly just a wardrobe malfunction. It wasn't intentional, and something like that could happen to anyone performing on stage. | For young women who watched the situation play out, my message is simple: love yourself and stay confident in who you are. | People will always have opinions, especially in the public eye. What matters most is staying true to yourself and not letting negativity take away your light. |
Your sound is deeply personal; it feels like you write close to the bone. Is that vulnerability a choice, or just how the music comes out?
| I think it's both a choice and something that comes naturally to me. I'm a very emotional and vulnerable person, and sometimes I actually find it difficult to express myself in normal conversations. | But when I sing or write music, the words just come naturally. Music becomes the place where I can say things I might struggle to say otherwise. It's almost like everything falls into place in that moment, and the emotions come out honestly. | That's why a lot of my music feels very personal because it really comes from a genuine place. | What does it actually mean to you to be a young woman "winning" in Afrobeats right now? | I feel very blessed to be in the position I'm in, and I pray the blessings continue and grow. I also hope that more women continue to rise in the industry. | For me, winning isn't just about personal success. It's about opening doors and showing that women deserve to be respected and celebrated for the hard work we put into our craft. | I hope that as the industry grows globally, the recognition and respect for women's contributions will continue to grow as well. |
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| | | 🤔 DID YOU KNOW? | Bolanle Awe Put Nigerian Women Into the Record | | Bolanle Awe was the first female academic staff member at a Nigerian university and a pioneer of feminist history in the country. | Educated at the University of St Andrews and the University of Oxford, she became a professor at the University of Ibadan, where she challenged the exclusion of women from historical narratives. | She also co-founded the Women's Research and Documentation Centre to advance women's studies. |
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| | | 💡 COMMUNITY TOWNHALL | | | | | When was a time a woman did something good/amazing/powerful that you'll never forget? | We asked our WhatsApp community a question. They answered. Then they joined The Juice. So, consider this their official welcome—through their own words. | Across these responses, one thread stands out: their mothers. Women who show up, stand firm, and hold their families together, no matter what. | Miracle - My younger sister and I went to register for JAMB this year, and she gave up her place for me to register at the risk of not registering herself. I cried, she cried, but the men at the doors did not budge. It was a moment I will never forget… giving her spot up. | Ayo - My super Mommy has rheumatism, and she still treks everyday to the market to work. There was a time when I was sick, and I couldn't go to work. She was sick too, and we had no cash on us. She stood up from the bed, put on her clothes, and zoomed off to work. | Seyi - I remember that day I had pneumonia, typhoid, and malaria all at once. And my body was swelling up because of the excess drip I took. Almost at the point of death, my mom carried me all the way from our house to the hospital, with broken legs. 🤧🩸 | Ifeoma - My dad lost his job, and his phone got stolen on a bus. My mum sacrificed her phone and her salary for my dad. She was a teacher, and she would go for lessons and come back by 9 pm because she was hustling. | Shedrach - During COVID-19, my dad's business wasn't going well, so my mum had to start selling moi moi every day. She wakes up at 2 am to start preparing for it so she can help provide for the family. | Tosin - When I was about 10 years old, I became very sick in the middle of the night, and my mom carried me on her back to the hospital. The doctor said her quick action saved my life — thank you, Mom, I will never forget that night. ❤️ | Happiness - We are four girls, and our dad doesn't support girls' education. My mom has been the one feeding and sending us to school. I'm in my final year, and all thanks to my mom. My sis are also in school, and my mom is struggling to educate us. I hope for a good job. | Tolu - When I was going through a financial and health crisis, my sis took me in and cared for me like her child till I got a job, got back on my feet, and left her house. Now she's getting married. Help me congratulate her. She's amazing. | Leke - My mum literally paid our school fees for almost 3 years because our Dad lost his job, and yet she always says it's from our Dad, until one morning, Dad broke the news that she's been the one doing it just to help the family. Omo!!! | Nancy - I remember one time I was passing through a lot in school, and one of the teachers noticed my instability. She pulled me aside and talked with me, complimented me, prayed for me, and encouraged me. I never took her words for granted since that day. |
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| | That's all we have for you today. We hope that you feel inspired to share your story with us. If you prefer, we promise to keep you anonymous. See you next Tuesday, have a great week! | - Shalom. | | Today's email was brought to you by Shalom Tewobola and Praise Okeoghene Vandeh. Editing by: Shalom Tewobola. Designs by: Daniel Banjoko | Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. | Have a story or product that needs to be seen? Submit here. |
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