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

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 yearsAccording to the National Crime Records Bureau NCRB a total of 405 lakh crimes against women were registered during 2019 an increase of 73 per cent from 2018 India recorded an average of 87 rape cases every day in 2019Though sexual assault and rape incidents grab headlines domestic violence was the top crime against Indian women in 2019 According to NCRB 126 lakh domestic violence cases were registered in 2019 and there was an alarming surge in the same during COVID19 induced lockdown in 2020 The National Commission of Women NCW received 13410 complaints between March ndash September 2020 of which 4350 were of domestic violenceThe 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 allA music production company Little Soundsrsquo Romel Dias found himself asking the same questions His desire to do something for the cause was such that he felt he couldnrsquot stay silent anymore From this anguish an idea of expression was born He collaborated with BeBetter Collabsrsquo Deeti Mehta and they decided to channelize their angst is musicRomel and Deeti roped in Mumbaibased producer Darshan Lodhaya aka Bluesanova and also a 17yearold poet Khushi Agarwal to put together an album titledWe 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 awarenessDeeti took responsibility of bringing the artistes together and making sure that the record is the exact reflection of their feelingsAs an NGO professional Deeti has been a witness to the impact of violence on women way too many times She said she felt ldquoconfusion and helplessnessrdquo 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 lsquoJawab ChahiyersquoTalking 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 lsquoJawab Chahiyersquo came her way she grabbed the opportunity and let her emotions run wild She also added a tinge of her feminine rage to the piecePoetry 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 noticeThe dark cinematic vibe of lsquoJawab Chahiyersquo along with the hardhitting lyrics makes it a perfect protest anthem and a muchneeded wakeup call All the other tracks of the album including lsquoChal Uthrsquo and lsquoInquilabrsquo focus on violence against womenRomel said they ldquodid not think that their humble effort will snowball into something so big that other artistes would reach out to them for collaborationsrdquo The whole idea was sort of a passion project and they didnrsquot even have much resource to kick start the project So much so that the video of lsquoJawab Chahiyersquo was shot in Romelrsquos bedroomThe 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 ldquohellipif we donrsquot get answers we want Inquilabrdquo which is also the hook line of the songRomel 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 crimesWith 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 SanskritWhile this is a significant and muchneeded 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 albumWe stand with herKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latestCrime National International and Hatke newshereAlso download the new middayAndroidandiOSapps to get latest updatesMidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news