NIYA is a sad love story about a chikha that is in love with a man and is waiting for him to ask for her hand (marriage) but the man never came.
A chikha is an artist that is prejudiced in the Moroccan society, seeing as women with no morals. Chikhates were a huge part in the Moroccan history. Before the chikates that we know today, these women were singing against colonization, against injustice and the suffering of their tribes. Kharboucha is one of the most famous chikhate and she was singing bravely against the caid Aissa Ben Omar who killed her in a terrible way.
In her instagram video, Manal said that she wanted to pay homage to these women that are seen badly by society when they are just ordinary women that also dream about their marriage.
NIYA in moroccan arabic means innocence and naivety and Manal sings about it with an amazing music video.
The visuals are so pretty and show different aspects of Moroccan culture.
