Mumbai artistes say "We Stand With Her" to fight crime against women

Little Sounds` Romel Dias and BeBetter Collabs` Deeti Mehta come together to create an album to support women in their fight against injustice | Pic Credit: Prashin Jagger

The reported number of incidents of crime against women have been on the rise since years despite the Central and state governments implementing measures to ensure the safety of women. All major categories such as rape, molestation, kidnapping, domestic violence and dowry deaths have registered an increase over the past years.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 4.05 lakh crimes against women were registered during 2019, an increase of 7.3 per cent from 2018. India recorded an average of 87 rape cases every day in 2019.

Though sexual assault and rape incidents grab headlines, domestic violence was the top crime against Indian women in 2019. According to NCRB, 1.26 lakh domestic violence cases were registered in 2019 and there was an alarming surge in the same during COVID-19 induced lockdown in 2020. The National Commission of Women (NCW) received 13,410 complaints between March - September 2020, of which 4,350 were of domestic violence.

The questions that come to mind after reading these statistics are - is enough being done to ensure that women are safe or are we doing anything at all?

A music production company Little Sounds' Romel Dias found himself asking the same questions. His desire to do something for the cause was such that he felt he couldn't stay silent anymore. From this anguish, an idea of expression was born. He collaborated with BeBetter Collabs' Deeti Mehta and they decided to channelize their angst is music.

Romel and Deeti roped in Mumbai-based producer Darshan Lodhaya aka Bluesanova and also a 17-year-old poet, Khushi Agarwal, to put together an album titled We Stand With Her. Other artistes - Nagaland folk siblings Tetseo Sisters, vocalists Aanchal Shrivastava and k o k u m - were also made a part of this larger campaign to spread awareness.

Deeti took responsibility of bringing the artistes together and making sure that the record is the exact reflection of their feelings.

As an NGO professional, Deeti has been a witness to the impact of violence on women way too many times. She said she felt "confusion and helplessness" as she realised that almost all women have experienced some sort of assault or harassment in their lives. Thus, she encouraged lyricist Khushi Agarwal to not hold back while writing the lyrics of their first song ‘Jawab Chahiye'.

Talking about the lyrics, Khushi, a student, a street play artist and a poet, said she has come across many victims of sexual violence and harassment and she feels nothing but rage and helplessness. However, when ‘Jawab Chahiye' came her way, she grabbed the opportunity and let her emotions run wild. She also added a tinge of her feminine rage to the piece.

Poetry has played a vital role in the album as they believe it is the words that leave an impact and make people think. Khushi said, "Good poetry is about speaking the truth and when you say the truth it always reaches the heart, makes you stand up and take notice."

The dark, cinematic vibe of ‘Jawab Chahiye', along with the hard-hitting lyrics makes it a perfect protest anthem and a much-needed wakeup call. All the other tracks of the album, including ‘Chal Uth' and ‘Inquilab' focus on violence against women.

Romel said they "did not think that their humble effort will snowball into something so big that other artistes would reach out to them for collaborations". The whole idea was sort of a passion project and they didn't even have much resource to kick start the project. So much so, that the video of ‘Jawab Chahiye' was shot in Romel's bedroom.

The only thing that kept them going is their desire to make a difference and support a larger cause. Deeti said this album is not just about showing solidarity but also about seeking answers from the people in authority who are responsible to make the society safer for women. And in her own fierce way, Khushi adds, "…if we don't get answers, we want Inquilab", which is also the hook line of the song.

Romel and Deeti understand that change will not happen overnight and they are ready to take the challenge head on and keep up the good work in the future as well. They have decided to take up various projects that work towards making the world a safer place for women and also break the stigma around rape and sexual crimes.

With their first album they have tried to reach a wider audience as the album has 6 songs in 6 languages - English, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Chokri (Nagaland) and Sanskrit.

While this is a significant and much-needed effort from a group of artistes who want to make a change, the system will change when all of us contribute to the cause in different ways. And we can all start by liking and sharing the songs of the album We stand with her.

Keep scrolling to read more news

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news