| 👋 Hello there. Every International Women's Day, the Nigerian internet does two things: celebrate remarkable women and collectively side-eye the worst campaigns. Welcome to #2 of The Juice: IWD Edition. Today is International Day of Awesomeness, which feels fitting because it's also still the month of women. We're rolling our eyes at that one tech creator's 'distasteful' joke about women needing men to fix their problems. Let's raise the bar. | Coming up: | | Note: We're still accepting stories to feature in our community. Reply to this email to participate (there's a potential prize involved!) | | | 🩸 FIRST IN HER BLOODLINE | Aladesulu Bukola is the first in her bloodline to step into global rooms | | | | | | What are you the first woman in your bloodline to do, and did you always know it would be you? | First woman in my bloodline to leave our small town, step into global rooms, shape policies, and represent millions of Lagos youth as a youth Ambassador. | Not exactly. I just knew that the realities around me couldn't be the end of the story; I wanted more, even when I couldn't fully see what that "more" looked like yet. | Growing up, what did the women before you teach you, intentionally or unintentionally, about what was possible? | The women before me, especially my mother, taught me resilience above all else. She showed me the power of education as a pathway to move beyond the borders and limitations of the small, underrepresented community where I grew up. | Watching her also taught me to keep showing up with grace, to carry responsibility with dignity, and to put in the hard work even when the odds are not always in my favour. | What resistance, be it subtle or loud, did you face when you chose this path? | I started this journey very young, around age fifteen, and one of the first things I encountered was people questioning whether young people could truly lead meaningful change. Even within my family, there were moments of uncertainty about whether what I was trying to build was realistic. | There were also practical and cultural barriers. As a teenage girl, wanting to attend events, lead initiatives, and stay out late for programs or community work was not always seen as normal or safe. | I often had to advocate for myself even at home, explaining why these opportunities mattered and why I needed the autonomy to pursue them. | 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? | Oh Absolutely. And it wasn't just one moment; it happened many times along the journey. | Through my work in social impact, I was exposed very early to the realities many women face when they lack empowerment and economic independence. I've seen teenage girls becoming mothers after experiences of abuse, young women forced into survival choices like prostitution simply to sustain themselves, and more. | It's humbling and heavy. Because you realise your choices are no longer just personal decisions, they are now signals to other young women that greatness is possible, that their voices matter, and that they too can step into spaces that once felt out of reach. | It's International Women's Day. If a woman somewhere out there is watching your journey, what do you hope she learns from you? | I hope she learns that you don't need perfect circumstances to begin. | You don't need to come from the biggest city, the most privileged background, or the most connected networks to start building something meaningful. What you need is courage to start where you are, curiosity to keep learning, and persistence to keep showing up even when progress feels slow. | There is space for more women to lead, to innovate, to speak, and to shape the future. And the door is not as closed as it sometimes looks | Aladesulu Bukola is the second 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 | | Beverly Charles is Exactly (dizzy) Who She Thinks She Is | | | | | "Escaladizzy" has become a chat across Nigerian pop culture, helping propel Mavo into the ranks of Afrobeats' rising stars. But behind that rise is Beverly Charles, the A&R who first heard the artiste through a simple SoundCloud link and was hooked. | A glance at Beverly Charles' trajectory in the creative industry will leave you with one word hanging over your head: preordained. Better known as Bevs, the A&R and creative director grew up in a home where the entertainment business was no stranger. Her mother worked with a lot of people in the industry, and her house served as a movie set many times. | Growing up in this vibrant scene cultivated a long-standing infatuation with the entertainment industry. It was this infatuation that led her to specialise in entertainment law. | Then came music camp. | Her first real dalliance with the entertainment industry from an executive standpoint came in 2022 when she hosted a music camp, just a few weeks after she started tinkering with A&R, going from online course to online course. | Music camp is a bold move for anyone just starting, but as we have come to understand, "bold" is one of the many words used to describe Beverly Charles' career. She didn't have the blueprint when she decided to host that camp; all she knew was she wanted her artiste "yellw" to mix with other Lagos artistes, so he could get out there. That camp marked the kick-off of her career. | Ever since then, she has donned many hats: A&R, creative director, manager, marketer. She firmly believes that these roles sharpen one another. | Charles met Mavo in 2023 and instantly hit it off. When he sent a SoundCloud link to listen to a song, she was immediately hooked. And now Mavo is one of the fastest rising artistes in afrobeats. They have worked together since 2023, sowing the seeds for what we now view as a bountiful harvest. | As a female manager, Charles has had to walk into many masculine-coded rooms and has learned to navigate those dynamics without losing sight of her purpose. | And perhaps that is what makes her story fitting for International Women's Day. Not just the success but the persistence behind it, the willingness to step into difficult spaces, do the work, and keep pushing. |
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| | | 🤔 DID YOU KNOW? | Madam Nwanyeruwa Sparked a 10,000-Person Revolt | | Have you ever heard of the Aba Women's Riot of 1929? | The protest, led by Madam Nwanyeruwa, brought together nearly 10,000 women. Her actions were so significant that they later inspired Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti when she organized the Abeokuta Women's Revolt. | Like the Abeokuta uprising, the Aba Women's Riot was a response to the British colonial government's unfair taxation of market women. |
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| | | 💡 JUICE POLL | | | | | How did you celebrate IWD? | | If your option isn't here, do well to email us your answer! |
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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 Praise Okeoghene Vandeh and Shalom Tewobola. 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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