Metro People: Conveying a social message through a song

Addressing gender stereotypes, Bengaluru-girl Ishita Uppadhayay wrote ‘Skirts or Pants’ for her Counter Speech Fellowship (CSF) at Young Leaders for Active Citizenship India.

The 17-year-old, who has been singing, writing and playing instruments for a while now, decided to address the issue when one of her friends passed a sexist comment.

She explains, “When I was chatting with my friends, one of them passed a comment that the other (a male friend) had ‘girly hands’. That comment spoke really loud to me. We put a gender or label on so many things that actually shouldn’t have them. This made me think, and I decided to write a song about it.”

The 56-second video was put up on the CSF handle, and Ishita received a lot of positive reaction from people, who claimed that it was relatable.

She adds, “It says the same message in an easier way to digest. Often times when we try to discuss societal issues, it gets lengthy or boring. I feel that there are a lot of creative ways to convey positive messages.”

Currently a 12th-grade student, Ishita asserts that she will be writing more songs after her exams.

“The positive response I received has made me more interested in writing songs,” she signs off.

The video will soon be uploaded on YouTube.