UNICEF, WBCPCR celebrate girls with gender-equality song

Kolkata: Every October 11, on International Day of the Girl, UNICEF launches an annual campaign with girls to amplify their voices and stand up for their rights. This year, under the theme “My voice, our equal future”, the campaign aims to re-imagine a better world inspired by adolescent girls. In association with UNICEF, West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) has come up with a song that will be unveiled on October 11.Meant to promote gender equality, the song has been written and composed by Anupam Roy and sung by him, Iman Chakraborty, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Anirban Bhattacharya and Rafiath Rashid Mithila.
As per the official National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS 4) data, one in three of the world’s child brides live in India. “This data of NFHS 4 (2015 – 2016) shows that approximately one in four young women in India were married or in union before their 18th birthday. Among all the districts in India, West Bengal’s Murshidabad shows the highest prevalence of child marriage within the age group of 15-19 years. The figure is 39.9%. Several state government initiatives like Kanyashree and Rupashree are working on ground to stop child marriages,” said Ananya Chakraborti, the chairperson of WBCPCR who directed the video along with film-maker Sudeshna Roy.
According to her, the reason behind this high occurrence is the “vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy”. Child brides are common in families for whom the girl child is a “burden”. “Those who are poor and illiterate don’t consider giving equal opportunities to their sons and daughters. It’s easier for them to get the daughters married off or work somewhere. We have noticed that those parents who are literate but poor try everything in their capacity to send the daughters to schools and not get them married off early. This song – ‘Chhoto Chhoto Paye Pothchhola’ - harps on the need to give equal opportunities to all children,” Chakraborti said.
A still from the video of the song featuring Iman Chakraborty, Rafiath Rashid Mithila, Anupam Roy and Parambrata Chattopadhyay
Its lyrics – “Amio egote chai/ Soman amader odhikar/ Chhele aar meyer tofhat korona/ Ei gota duniyae” - advocates the need of a girl child to also go ahead in life without feeling differentiated. “Unlike his other composition, this song relies heavily on simplicity. This song is not elitist but is meant for everyone, including first generation learners. The video is shot by Debolina and edited by Saikat Sekhareswar Ray,” said Sudeshna Roy, special consultant of WBCPCR.
While writing it, Roy kept in mind that it should “natural” without being “preachy”. “I didn’t want to make it slogan-driven or a protest song. The world is unfair and there is so much of injustice all around. Amid this injustice, this song is asking for equal opportunity to everyone,” Roy said.
“The song is very special because it speaks about girls’ voices, choices and rights. I hope after listening to this song we all will be inspired to ensure the girls and boys are treated equally and girls are given voices and choices and their rights are ensured,” said Mithila.
Child rearing, Roy said, is often seen as an investment. “Sons were given more to eat than the daughters. The difference is so huge that when they reach 20 or so there is no question of equality. This song is trying to make an earnest appeal to awaken the consciousness at the grassroot level.”