The newly-released single, “Woman”, by the talented vocalist and creative, Simi, has hit the markets and touched depths. The single is a song with a beautiful message, one that addresses the recurrent problem of systematic repression of the womenfolk.

The single shows that Simi, the talented singer that always delivers, is back on the good tides of the Afrobeat market, experimenting with a new, diverse and fluid sound. The music video, garnished with excellent costumes, video vixens and choreography, passes the message of the song effectively, a quality that is far becoming rare in recently-released videos in the music industry.

The single, right from its first line, punctuates the whole essence of the song – women suffering and repressed, based on perceptions of being a weaker sex. The song delves passionately into the intricacies of the survival of women in a man-themed world, highlighting the struggles of women to stay strong and act complicit to survive in an atmosphere structured to shatter their chances of growth and relevance.

The song also delves into the societal disfavour of women, mentioning that the men, and surprisingly women, hate the female gender. This is seen in the vocals “Man e no like woman/ Woman no like woman”, denoting the passive intersection of hate amongst both genders. The song also explores societal stereotypes, which fixates women into particular boundaries they are expected to operate from. The song decries the plight of women, deliberately condemned to “Suffer suffer for world, Enjoy for heaven”, laying a groundwork for the message of revolution of thoughts and perspectives around the woman concept.

The second verse states the submission expected from women through religious influence, without the same being requested from men. It also blames society for its passiveness to women’s plight, laying repetition to the stereotypical thinking of “pigeonholing” women in their quest for significance and relevance. The song mentions the attachment of the society to only attach relevance to a women-only with men by their side, laying emphasis on the illogicality of these anomalies.

Simi’s “Woman” is a song that fingers the pulses and pokes into our perspectives of societal boundaries and beliefs of the whole essence of womanhood. The song, garnished by the Fela-inspired “Water – E no get enemy” and “I never talk finish”, states that there are more to the plights suffered by women and the girl-child, more that the society needs to examine, re-orientate and re-calibrate itself on. The song leaves us, without providing solutions, for us all to find our bearings, and as the popular slang “catch our sub”.

“Woman” is a single that deserves all the recognition it is getting and more. Voiced by the talented and brilliant Simi, it preaches a message of hope, confidence and courage to the women’s sector, while urging society to place women to accord respect and place women in the category they rightfully belong.

Written by Adedimeji Quayyim Abdul-Hafeez

Adedimeji Quayyim Abdul-Hafeez is a mad creative on the loose, journalist and law enthusiast. He receives mails on [email protected] and directs the Ministry of Flex, Vibes and Creativity on Twitter via @quayyimbakr.