NGO takes leaf out of 'Gully Boy' to battle crimes against women

Kolkata: Ever since the release of 'Apna Time Aayega' from Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Gully Boy' has taken the country by storm, the rage anthem has found its place in multiple trajectories– from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent political crusade to awareness campaigns. In a recent initiative launched by a city-based NGO to spread awareness about the peril of 'eve teasing', the rap was rehashed and performed by a group of community workers from Metiabruz.

Speaking at an event called 'One Billion Rising' at Loreto House, aimed at raising awareness about the various atrocities faced by women in their daily life, Swathi Sanyal, community coordinator of the NGO said: "We were protesting about this issue through songs, slogans and poetry. But the best way to reach out to a millennial is to keep up with the ongoing trend and this is era of Gully boys, so why not rap?"

She said: "Every lyric of this rap called 'No more' describes the various horrifying events that occur with women who belong to different walks of life. Incidents such as whistling, upskirting, taking photographs without consent, making sexual innuendos, comments about their clothes, and others are common incidents that have been often reported by women. The men who indulge in such activities do not understand or rather respect the word 'no', rather when there is an extremely strong idea of masculine toxicity related to it."

Eve-teasing and molestation are problems that women all over the world, especially in India, grapple with everyday.

According to the United Nations, 1 in 3 women across the world get beaten or raped during their lifetime which is a staggering number of one billion women and girls.

The event also had song-and-dance performances by various artists such as social activists Sohini Chakraborty, Ramanjit Kaur, and various others from different NGOs which highlighted the plight of women and the issues faced by them such as domestic violence, women safety, women empowerment and gender myths.