WHOLE CHARACTER
要yāo, yào
to demand; to force (要求, 要挟); old use: the waist (同腰), or to invite (同邀)
要 read yào is to want and to be about to; read yāo it demands, as in 要求.
The header calls the original a pictograph of hands at the waist; the modern 覀-over-女 pieces are shown visually, with no piece story.
TOP PIECE (A FLATTENED 西 FORM)
覀
Notice this part of the shape; it is not taught as a separate word in this lesson.
In 要: top piece (a flattened 西 form) Shown as the top visual piece; no historical role is claimed.
BOTTOM PIECE (女)
女nǚ
woman; female
Female/woman-related meaning clue.
In 要: bottom piece (女) Shown as the bottom piece; the standalone meaning is not claimed here.