KarunaNews Story

Their songs are about women chained in abuse witnessed by generations -- teenage brides being forced into marriage by their fathers and they tell women to seek love, fight back and stand up for their right to be equal with men. They are the Roma (Gypsy) all-female band Pretty Loud, and they are using music in Serbia to preach women's empowerment within their community, challenging some deeply rooted traditions and centuries-old male domination. The women in the group got their start through programs run by a private foundation, Gypsy Roma Urban Balkan Beats. Initially they were danced in GRUBB's boys' band, then decided they wanted their own band. One of the women in the group said, My biggest reward is when 14-year-old girls write to me and say they want to become one of us, that they now attend school, thanks to us, that they have improved their grades.