#SorryThankYouTataByeBye to Patriarchy

By Akshay Tarfe
29 Nov, 2021

Oxfam India says #SorryThankYouTataByeBye to patriarchy; the musical collaboration pushes for creating enabling environment for girls through better education, healthcare, and livelihoods than reductive measure like increasing age of marriage

New Delhi, 29 November, 2021: Oxfam India and Agents of Ishq have joined hands to push for delay in the girl’s age of marriage through a new song that advocates for better opportunities and enabling environment for them. The song says #SorryThankYouTataByeBye to patriarchy and demands greater voice for girls from decision makers in matters related to their life such as age of marriage.

The video song which been made under Oxfam India’s #EmpowermentNotAge will be used by communities, social media influencers, digital platforms and feminist groups across India to show that improving young women’s lives through better education, employment opportunities, safety from violence, and increased agency all directly contribute to delaying marriage.

Watch the song here

The songs come in the backdrop of the United Nations marking the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence from 25 November to 10 December. The global theme this year is “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!”.

“We need to take a hard look at ground realities and violence faced by women and girls every day in India. Reductive measures like laws raising the minimum age of marriage for young women from 18 to 21 may look like progressive step on the onset but it will end up criminalizing families of 63% women in India who get married under the age of 21. Oxfam India is asking government and society to address systemic challenges faced by girls to create discrimination and violence free environment for them through this song,” said Oxfam India CEO Amitabh Behar.

The six-minute-long video song is trying to convince youth, civil society, masses and governments to grasp the complexity of the issue of age of marriage for girls, choice, and agency. It also hopes to trigger a nuanced discussion on the issue of raising age of marriage as the decision will disproportionately affect women and girls from Dalit and Adivasi communities.

Amita Prite, Lead, Gender Justice at Oxfam India said, “ The government data itself is showing us that child marriage is reducing due to increase in education, skilling, healthcare and jobs. When girls can study further and earn money, it causes a change in attitude and a willingness to invest in them and delay their marriages. We urge everyone to use this song and work towards holistic development of girls and women to delay their marriage.”

For more queries, please contact Akshay Tarfe ( +918767980522)

About Oxfam India

Oxfam India is a movement of people working to end discrimination and create a free and just society. We work to ensure that Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, and women and girls have safe violence-free lives with freedom to speak their mind, equal opportunities to realize their rights, and a discrimination-free future.

📢Oxfam India is now on Telegram. Click here to join our Telegram channel and stay tuned to the latest updates and insights on social and development issues.

Gender Justice

We campaign to change patriarchal mindsets that influence violence against women  

Jobin, Pankajakshi, Remya and Parvathy, though from different districts in Kerala suffered a similar fate in the October 2021 floods and landslides. They were all left without a source of income or food to feed their families. Oxfam India delivered dry ration and safety kits to 2771 families in Idukki, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam.

Education

16 Jan, 2022

Uttar Pradesh

Mohalla Classes 2.0

Due to prolonged school closure, children had lost interest in attending classes and there was a wide learning gap during this period. To bridge the learning gap among children, Oxfam India has once again started 15 Mohalla classes covering four districts of Uttar Pradesh. In these classes 321 children including 155 girls and 166 boys are getting education with the help of volunteers and Oxfam India team. Out of these children, 77 children are out of school.

Transboundary Rivers of South Asia (TROSA)

13 Jan, 2022

Dhubri, Assam

Handcrafting a Water Filter

Rowsonara, troubled with the heavy iron content in the water, first made a multi-layer mud filter with coal, sand and rocks through which contaminated water would trickle down to a chamber that would hold clean water. She bettered it by making a cement filter. Quite a few people in the area also replicated the filter in their respective households and now have access to water that is better fit for consumption.

India Discrimination Report

07 Jan, 2022

Karnataka

Back to School and Digital Literacy

Schools which were on our Bangalore trail now have refurbished computer rooms as part of the Oxfam India-Virtusa 'Back to School and Digital Literacy' programme. 537 children belonging to some of the most marginalised communities will now have access to computers. And of course, a whole lot of stationery and sports item as well!