Q&A with Sisters in Danger
Featured artists of the UNiTE Song ContestDate:
Author: Younghwa Choi
UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific launched the UNiTE Song Contest to capture the spirit of the Secretary General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign by inviting people to submit their own music video about ending violence against women. UN Women spoke with Sisters in Danger from Indonesia about the inspiration for their song for the UNiTE Song Contest.
Please tell us about your group, the Sisters in Danger.
We are Sisters in Danger from Indonesia, a project band recruited for a campaign to stop violence against women and children. We proudly enter the UNiTE 2016-2017 Song Contest with our own song “16 Oranges” on Valentine’s Day – the day when people celebrate love. Sisters in Danger is not a band just for concerts, but the band is also providing a platform for a musical discussion on ending violence. We sing for true love and justice without violence. We hope our song brings people to unite to end violence against women.
What was your inspiration to create this song?
We were inspired by the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign (the 16 Days of Activism). We honoured the 16 Days of Activism with 16 oranges in the music video and the lyrics. The 16 Days of Activism has inspired us and millions of people around the world to take action on the movement for making a brighter future without violence. Through the song “16 Oranges”, we are gently asking everyone in the world to stop any kind of violence against women and girls.
Why is the issue of gender-based violence important in Indonesia?
Gender-based violence is a major issue in Indonesia. Such prevalence of gender-based violence in the country has inspired Sisters in Danger to raise our voices and bring awareness to the issue. It resulted in this #UNiTEsong. We dedicate the song to all victims, survivors, and advocates to end gender-based violence in Indonesia and around the world. We wore traditional dress of Indonesia in the music video to encourage 258 million people of 1,340 ethnics in the country to unite together and take responsibility to end violence against women.
16 Oranges by Sisters in Danger #UNiTEsong
Lyrics:
Too much time for hurting
Too little time for loving
I give you 16 oranges
The vitamin to end the violence
But I wanna tell you, my friends
The strongest vitamin is the true love
And justice from the mind
So we can orange the world
Unite! We bury hate
Unite! Speak out & fight
Unite! Real men don’t rape
Unite! Real women know their rights
So let me tell you, my friends
We grow the seeds of equality
16 days, 16 centuries, and more
A brighter future: violence no more