| 👋 Good morning, and happy holidays! Shoutout to our Muslim brothers and sisters, honestly, we'll take any extra day to breathe in this country. I woke up to a deeply disturbing video circulating online: a group of boys gang-groping girls at Southern Delta University, Ozoro. Reports say it's tied to a so-called "traditional rite" observed on March 19, where women are advised to stay indoors and lock their doors for safety. | There's nothing cultural about violence. Nothing traditional about terror. It's difficult to even process the level of cruelty behind something like this, let alone explain it. Why should anyone have to disappear from public space just to avoid being violated? Sigh. | On a lighter note, we've got a special surprise for our WhatsApp community joiners this week, but you'll have to scroll a little to find it. | Let's get into it ⬇️ | In this edition: This week in pop culture, rethinking workplace dress codes for women, how to call in a wealthy man, a community townhall, and more. | If you're enjoying this, don't forget to subscribe and join The Juice community. We're building this together ♡. | | | | | | Quick Question | When was a time a woman did something good/amazing/powerful that you'll never forget? | Answers at the bottom of this newsletter. |
| |
| | |
| | 🗞️ THIS WEEK IN POP CULTURE | | | | | | 🎵 MUSIC | African Giant strikes again! This week, Burna Boy became the first African artiste to gross $3M in an Oceania tour. With $3.1 million from 31,000 tickets sold across 4 shows, No Sign of Weakness becomes the highest-grossing tour of an African artiste. |
| |
| | |
| | | | | ☆ FASHION | Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi is taking Nigerian fashion talk from group chats to the studio with The Fashion Roundtable, dropping March 19. Finally, a place where "Who are you wearing?" might come with actual industry tea. |
| |
| | |
| | | | | 🏛️ MATTERS ARISING | Ibadan was rocked this week by a bandit attack that left two people abducted and later rescued by police. The incident has heightened fears over rising insecurity in the southwest. |
| |
| | |
| | | | | 📚 FILM | The highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time, Behind the Scenes, is coming to Netflix. If you haven't seen the film that had all of Nigeria talking in December, now is the time to see it! |
| |
| | |
| | | | | ↝ TRENDING | Streamer Peller basically turned the Oba of Benin's palace into a content stop, and now the queen who let him in could get kicked out for breaking serious tradition rules. The palace isn't laughing either: officials have been suspended, police are involved, and Peller has been summoned to come and explain himself (and probably say sorry). |
| |
| | |
| | | 🍋 MAIN SQUEEZE | Rethinking workplace dress codes | | | | | In Nigeria, debates about women's dressing in professional spaces are rarely just about aesthetics; they are shaped by longstanding ideas about respectability, gender, and professionalism. | Across industries, from finance to tech, women's appearance is still frequently scrutinized as a measure of competence and credibility, reflecting both conservative social norms and inherited corporate cultures. | Last weekend, that tension resurfaced online when a woman's appearance in a short skirt at Mainstack's Moment, where she was delivering a lecture on content creation, sparked widespread debate. The image circulated quickly, prompting many to question whether miniskirts have a place in corporate environments. | We followed the conversation closely and began asking a broader question: what do workplace dress codes actually enforce, and who do they serve? | To explore this, we spoke with our fashion correspondent, Chinazam Ikechi-Uko, examining the policing of women's clothing and the evolving boundaries of professional dress. | Can short skirts belong in corporate spaces, or are dress codes still quietly enforcing outdated ideas of professionalism? | Dress codes don't necessarily work on a 'can' and 'can't' basis, as the onus falls entirely on the establishment. However, I'll admit that Gen Z are figuring out the corporate world in terms of style because the effects of lockdown defined a lot of their lives. | So while in some decades, like the 60s, it was seen as revolutionary to wear a short skirt, workwear for Gen Z often leans a lot more casual, and not because it's revolutionary but because it's comfortable and familiar. | So to answer, we are still defining professionalism to us, and honestly, we have already accepted short skirts as seen on our beauty business moguls, and more | Do you think people missed the nuance in this debate—that different professions naturally have different dress expectations (e.g., healthcare vs banking vs media)? Where should the line be drawn? | Yes, the rules don't really apply to people in occupations created in the age of social media. So new media, "creative", influencer-turned-business mogul. | The novelty of these spaces has sort of disrupted the typical rules, and there's pretty much no standard; everyone is making it up as they go. | I work in fashion, so I've always been nonconformist in terms of "lines" and "boxes". I'm like Joan of Arc; I'd accept heresy charges if the other option was denouncing my belief and dressing in the "acceptable" women's wear. | At what point does workplace dress code shift from maintaining standards to policing women's bodies? | Workplace dress codes are tricky; it is under your employer's jurisdiction to police your attire, but you can say it stops being about attire when you're singled out for things beyond control. | For example, if you're on the curvy side and you're asked to dress more modestly than your co-worker, it is then about your body. | Why are women's clothing choices, like skirt length, often scrutinized more heavily than men's in professional settings? | Skirt lengths have a long history of scrutiny because, for a large part of humanity, legs are attractive features. | Things like the length, the shape, the texture, and the feel are very appealing, so in some ways it is seen as an object of lust. Hence, why mini skirts have been historically banned in countries like China and Saudi Arabia. | In the same way, in certain cultures, showing the stomach is normal, and in others, it is an object of lust. The major difference between the politics of men's and women's bodies is that it varies due to beauty standards. | If a society deems hair as an object of lust, then women will be asked to cover it. The misogyny lies in the fact that women are blamed for men's attraction to our body parts. | Is "dress appropriately for your industry" a practical guideline, or does it sometimes become an excuse to limit self-expression, especially for women? | To be honest, it is a practical guideline. I could tell you to dress however you'd like, but as someone in the industry, I would tell you there's bias and prejudice, especially regarding style. | Saying it limits self-expression is an individualistic way to see it. It's probably because they have these biases, and they know everyone has them, so there's the fear that their industry gets a bad reputation. | I work in fashion; I see what people say about the most recent Paris Fashion Week (FW26). A lot of this even comes from progressive people. But if you want to be expressive through clothes, you have to accept that there's going to be pushback. You can't cure prejudice in everyone. | |
| |
| | |
| | | 🔪 THE PEEL | | How to call in a "wealthy man"
| | | | | 🔍 The Discourse | While people were stuck on the short skirt debate last weekend, I was more intrigued by the courses the woman at Moment sold (as discussed above), particularly one titled 'How to Call in a Wealthy Man', for the successful women who want their own person to find them and take care of them. A truly intriguing title. I started wondering, can a course really bring you a wealthy man? |
| |
| | |
| | | | | Peeling it back | Content creators, especially on TikTok, all create handbooks to get a "high value man", and they've become quite popular within the Nigerian space. | The fundamental problem of these courses is the caveman trap: man hunts, woman watches. They harken to patriarchal structures that relegate women to passive roles. | Men are the gatekeepers of success and luxuries, while women are the benefactors. The issue is that, no matter how close you are to said wealth, it is still not yours. And the person who finances your life usually owns your autonomy because the power dynamic becomes skewed. | There is also a transactional way these courses treat love; they frame it as a financial exchange. | "Talk in a hushed, feminine tone, and boom, a wealthy man will appear." This reduces love to a transaction and erases the emotional and intellectual parts of relationships. | These courses also take a psychological toll on women. If I talk in a hushed tone, walk like a Samerian cat, and still can't secure a wealthy man, I blame myself. Maybe my tone wasn't hushed enough; maybe I should have tried walking like an Egyptian cat instead. |
| |
| | |
| | | | | Another layer | The illusion of control is present in these lessons. They tell you if you do XYZ, you'll get a wealthy man wrapped around your finger. But relationships are unpredictable. | Guys, we are literally in breakup season. People are waking up and leaving their partners. No text or look can guarantee someone else's feelings or financial support. | These creators know that women desire partnership because we are raised to see it as our ultimate goal. And capitalism encourages us to aspire to elitism. | So, they design this fallible content targeted at women, profiting off their desire for love, financial security, or status. It is a continuous string of how capitalism monetises insecurities and false promises. |
| |
| | |
| | | | | The core | Helloooo, are we not seeing how these courses drag women's rights a century backwards? | Content like this encourages women to rely on men financially, reinforcing a passive role. It subtly teaches women that their value is dependent on being "chosen" by a provider. | I'm pretty sure Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti is rolling in her grave at the way they are packaged and sold as empowerment. | These courses don't teach love or security; they create a mindset that is harmful to women and society. | So to answer the question I asked at the beginning, no, a course cannot bring you a benevolent patriarch; it can, however, run your bank account dry. You decide which is a more suitable option for you. |
| |
| | |
| | | 💡 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. | Amara - One time, an old friend of the family from church heard about my fracture and single-handedly carried the case from when I started consultations till when I finally had surgery and was eventually discharged, paying for what she could along the way… | Bayo - My mum, even when my dad left us, she hustled, she did multiple jobs, she went to Kaduna, came back to Abuja, did more jobs, and even managed to build a house by selling drinks, sand, blocks and the rest…. Her resilience was 💯 fr. | Bukky- A woman has been sponsoring my University education since year one, and I am currently in my final year 5. She didn't have to, but she did🥺 even when people asked why she was making so many sacrifices for my education. I can never forget. | Ifeoma - She used all her savings and sold all her dad's inheritance to bail me out from those who kidnapped me. | John - First time responding. I'll never forget my Mum, she saw me through school when my father passed away 15 years ago. I lost her to the cold hands of death 2 months ago, she'll always be my hero. 😥 | Tosin - After God, it's my cousin. She helped me and my son relocate out of Nigeria exactly three years ago, bearing a huge chunk of the cost and supporting us financially all through, even until now. | Gbemi - My dad is retired and it's been my mom all through. When my brother had a brain seizure. She slept in the hospital on the floor for months. She sold chicken to give us the best education. She said she did not go to school but she will make sure we are educated. 😭 | Kiki - Got pregnant while in school, struggled to pay bills, and got disowned by my dad. She begged her friend to take me in and followed me for antenatal. My baby girl is 9 now, and I'm happily married, and mom's gladly enjoying the fruits! 🥹 | Tolu - My dad left us for 25 years now. Left my mum with 4 children. My mum had to stand in when she was just a girl from the village. My dad's family took all the property, we were chased out of UNILAG staff quarters, so we stayed at my mum's shop. Today we are all graduates. | Nancy - My mum fell into a deep pothole while trekking a long distance to work in the rain 🌧️ just to make ends meet for us. The greatest treasure we have is our mum. | Jsyk, these stories were shared by members of the Pulse Family on WhatsApp. And you can do the same every Friday in our "Town Hall," a safe space to share wins, gist, advice, and even secrets.
Besides stories, you'll also get relatable content, memes, hot takes, exclusive drops (celeb interviews, shoutouts), plus genuinely useful hacks and tips. 1.7 million people already love it. Come inside now! |
|
|
| |
| | |
| | | 🎵 PRESSED BY THE JUICE | This week's playlist | | On today's episode of playlist discovery, we loved the 'screw your ex' vibe so much that we brought it back. But this time, we mixed it up with some 'you and your girls in the club' vibe. From our favorite celestial being, Ayra Starr, to artists like Fimi, Gyakie, and Kold AF, this vibe is right for you! | Don't forget to save, we update frequently. | Interested in guest curating? Reply to our mail, thejuice@pulse.ng | |
|
| | FRESH STATS | 60% | The percentage of Africans who are under 25 years old. Africa is considered the youngest con on Earth. Think about all the potential in this continent. | | 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. |
|
