Female musicians struggle to excel

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An all-women band from Jammu and Kashmir felt the heat when a fatwa was issued against them recently. Surprisingly, for a whole different set of reasons altogether, even in cosmopolitan cities like Delhi, women musicians find the going tough.
Wearing high heels they take the stage, but the road to fame in an industry dominated by men is not a cakewalk, share city-based women musicians.
“When I began my career as a musician, it was hard to find a music band that would take a female musician. When I went for auditions, male musicians would smirk at me and sarcastically ask, ‘Are you serious, a female musician?’,” says Subhadra Kamath, who refused to give up and now is a part the band, Fire Exit.
“Being a female musician you are always a target and the recent fatwa only proves it further. I recently went to Hong Kong for a performance and female musicians there don’t just get more opportunities and money but are also taken more seriously, which is a great confidence booster we don’t enjoy here,” says Jasmine Saxena, a solo musician.
She adds that not all female musicians are paid as much as their male counterparts. Apart from family support, which unlike
Jasmine not many girls get, managing finances is another reason countless girls learn music but hardly manage to take it up professionally, she says.
“I had to start teaching music to sustain myself since the pay was not very good in the beginning. I still teach because it makes me financially secure but I had to struggle for a long time before I managed to find a base in the field,” says Jasmine who performs with sessions musicians.
Another musician, Madhuri Jagadeesh, who has been playing for the last 25 years, says, “I was once told by an organiser that they just wanted an attractive backing singer and not somebody who sings well.”
Subhadra agrees and says that there is a stereotype that a female musician in a band is just supposed to look good and isn’t really expected to know anything about music. “But this is not true and many female musicians specially in Delhi and Mumbai circle have made it big on their talent,” she adds.
Manta Sindhu, singer-songwriter for band called MAP, insists that though there is a long way to go, things are getting better for women. “Many girls from various cities come to Delhi to make a mark in music industry. Even the audience are opening up to take female musicians seriously. I hope things will get better with time,” says Manta.