In Serbia, a Roma singing group is using music to spread the message of women’s empowerment in their community. The all-female group aims to urge people to resist centuries-old traditions, including male-only leadership. The band formed in 2014 and goes by the name Pretty Loud. They sing about women chained to abuse that has continued through many generations. The group sings about teenage girls whose fathers force them into marriage. The songs urge women to seek love, fight back, and stand up for their right to be treated as equals to men. Pretty Loud has gained popularity and international attention. The band performed last year in the British capital, London, at the Women of the Year Festival. The group spoke to the Associated Press recently about its music and mission. “We want to stop the early marriages ... we want the girls themselves, and not their parents, to decide whether they want to marry or not,” said 24-year-old member Silvia Sinani. “We want every woman to have the right to be heard, to have her dreams, and to be able to fulfill them, to be equal,” she added. Sinani said the idea to form a girl band was born at education and artistic classes run for Roma, or Gypsies, by a private organization called Gypsy Roma Urban Balkan Beats, or GRUBB for short. At first, she explained, the women danced in GRUBB’s boys’ band and then decided they wanted one of their own. “They named us ‘Pretty Loud’ because they knew that women in Roma tradition are not really loud,” she said. The band’s music is a mix of rap music and traditional Roma music. It targets a younger generation of girls who are yet to make their life choices. The band includes two 14-year-old sisters. Their songs speak to the position of women in the Roma community. Pretty Loud hopes the musical messages will help to increase self-awareness among Roma females. That could be critical in a community where early marriage is widespread. A UNICEF study published last year showed that over one-third of girls aged 15-19 in Roma communities in Serbia are already married. And, 16 percent of that group were married before age 15. Serbian officials have formed a government group to work toward ending the practice of early marriage.
