We women support each other and fight for our denied rights throughout human history. At this moment, we are contemporaries in this struggle and that is why I want to show all my support for the right to a free body and the life of all women in Poland and Brazil, who are also suffering the same backlash, with the loss of the right to abortion in cases including rape and life threatening pregnancy.

I chose one of the tracks on Vanja Orico's 1964 album, which to me is the very symbol of struggle, during the military dictatorship in Brazil, she participated in the demonstrations and put her body in front of tanks and soldiers in defence of the Brazilian people, even though she was already a famous actress.

The track is "Maria Moita" and talks about the subordination of women to men, going back to Brazil's slavery era. A painful image that places "mucama" (the house slave) the condition of women in the society in submission to the patriarchal "feitor" (the overseer of slaves, who was a slave too), both as the parents of the songwriter.

I have included a track from a Canadian Artist named Carole Pope, and her band "Rough Trade".  The song is called "High School Confidential" 

I chose this song for a few important reasons.  Carole Pope is a feminist, LGBQT+ icon and THE defining voice of Canadian New Wave music of the 80's.   

Many young women’s first sexual encounters are often, not fully consensual. 

Additionally, those who become unintentionally pregnant and choose abortion are often punished, victim-blamed, and painted as “asking for it”, instead of being offered the resources and support they need to move on with their lives.  

This song is about female empowerment and women taking control and ownership of their sexuality without fear, judgment, or stigma.  It's also inspired countless women to embrace their feminine power and challenge both traditional gender roles and male oppression.  

I can't think of a better song to represent Canada!

I've chosen this beautiful track "Puerta de la Cânne" from Le Parody, a Spanish female artist that I truly admire for being one of the most intelligent voices of the current electronic scene in our country. I think she's developing a powerful ability to mix folklore tradition and futurism in her tracks, melting them with a rave culture and deep feelings that are our very own, in a completely elegant and experimental way, and by this, becoming one of the most empowered women in electronic music in our days.

This is my small contribution, the energy of strong women from Madrid and Andalusia, which I hope will join that of many others worldwide. I think we need to be more intelligent than ever and create strategies to survive the hostilities we're facing and find underground paths to redefine the system and live in harmony with us, the earth we walk on and the people we love.

I've chosen an old school fado from our diva Amalia where she sings : its not a disgrace to be poor , its not a disgrace to be crazy...  and a more recent beat from Nidia our young Afro house Princess. She's born in Lisboa with roots of Guiné Bissau and Cabo Verde; she's an awsome producer and plays live sets with 4 cdj's running at the same time. she's also a really nice human being that really deserves to be heard and appreciated! 

As for the putrid patriarchal society of Poland i just feel like saying : fuck them very much!!!  

To all strong Polish women may they know they are not alone, female power echoes around the world backing them up. A Female Revolution is coming and its gonna kick ass!  <3 

I chose this song because the lyrics speak about a female goddess in the Candomblé religion. I put down the wikipedia translation about this goddess.

Oxum (in Yoruba: Oṣun), in the Yoruba religion, is an orisha who reigns over fresh waters, being considered the lady of beauty, fertility, money, sensitivity, being closely linked to the spiritual and material riches of life, vanity, and female empowerment. She is represented by a beautiful African woman, adorned from head to toe with gold jewelry, sitting on the edge of a river, admiring herself in a round and golden mirror, carrying and breastfeeding a baby in her lap, representing all her power linked to beauty , tenderness and affection. It is worshiped in Candomblé, Umbanda and in several African-American religions. Oxum owns gold and precious stones, and is worshiped as queen of the Ijexá nation. She has the title of ialodê, that is, the great mother, among the orixás.
 

Here in Brazil we are experiencing a situation very similar to Poland, with the loss of freedoms and increasingly becoming a conservative country that does not represent women and their desires at all, recently we had a very serious case of a girl who was raped and she became pregnant when she was 11 years old, she by law can have an abortion, but the government and many conservative entities went to the hospital to try to prevent abortion, in short, there was no talk about the rapist and they put the girl’s life at risk by exposing her data on the internet and causing great embarrassment in front of the hospital, horror scenes.

We women have to come together and I'm sure the future will be feminine. When we can express ourselves and feel represented!

Being a dual citizen of Poland & Canada, it's killing me that I feel powerless against the Polish government. I can't be there protesting on the streets with the strong willed, determined and courageous people of Poland. I kept thinking "What can I do to help?" All of a sudden Korneila (founder of @ladiesonrecords) approached me with this project and it was kismet.

I decided the best way to represent would be to dedicate 2 (rather than 1) songs from my dual identity, from my vinyl collection, a Canadian song & a Polish song.

Song # 1 - Canada: "High School Confidential" by Rough Trade

(Album: Avoid Freud, 1981).  When the song was released it was one of the first explicitly sexy lesbian-themed top 40 songs of its time. Radio stations censored the song because of its obvious homosexual undertones. Written by band leaders Carole Pope & Kevan Staples, the song was originally supposed to be sung by a man but openly gay Pope took the lead, paving the way for a new era of sexual openness for LGTBQ & female artists.

Today in 2020 as Polish women fight for their reproductive rights, the LGTBQ+ people of Poland are also battling for their equality in a country that has "LGBTQ-free zones".  

When I hear this song I think of the freedom of speech and the freedom to love whoever you want to love. Your body is your choice and whoever you love is your choice, don't let anyone (especially the government) dictate otherwise. 

Song #2 - Poland: "Żądza Pieniądza'' by Maanam (Album: Maanam, 1981). The lead singer of Maanam, Kora, is the quintessential Polish rock icon-goddess. Tragically she died of ovarian cancer in 2018. This song title translates in English as "Lust for Money". I chose this song because of the way it sounds: it's punk, it's outspoken, it's loud and rambunctious. Kora was an activist. She fought for democracy (Solidarnosc) and women's rights. As Polish women fight today with the largest anti-government protests since Solidarity in the 80s, I feel Kora's energy in the air as freedom is on the horizon. Beyond being pro-choice, Poland deserves equality for women & the LGTBQ+ community, separation from the church and the state, more support for healthcare, education and full judicial independence. There’s a younger generation in Poland which was never involved with politics, but if any silver linings come from the protests it is that now more than ever the young people of Poland are ‘woke’ and on the streets everyday demanding their rights. I’m so proud of this country. My ancestral trauma runs deep on that land and I’m happy to heal it with the entire world as we watch female resistance and the power of the people!

“Abortion Without Borders” is an NGO which helps Polish women receive legal and safe abortions abroad. They have been providing pregnancy options counselling, including factual information about abortion since 2006. Any caller who wants an abortion will be signposted to Women Help Women, Ciocia Basia (abortion support in Berlin), Abortion Network Amsterdam or Abortion Support Network for further help. Check out their link and how you can donate at: https://abortion.eu/

Sisters in Poland, we are standing with you from around the world. We feel your anger and pain, and we celebrate your strength and courage. I think of my grandmothers, and their grandmothers, and their grandmothers...... and I feel a fire inside of me that fuels me to believe that it IS possible for us to overcome the injustices, to push back, to persevere, and to prevail. Each of us, in our own countries and world are facing these challenges on different levels with different intensities. The beauty of the music is that we connect, we share a frequency and we hold space.... so I share these songs to elevate us to a spiritual realm, to ground us in our power and give us the power to fly. 

Aunty Alice Coltrane music reminds me to fly, to let go of the boundaries and transcend the boundaries and lines that society serves us. She makes fearlessness beautiful and entrancing. 

KarenBe LoveSoundColor is another woman of sound who weaves light into anthems. Her music connects us, and holds us, and makes me feel my power. We as sisters are nature, and we share a power that is so profound. (Anuenue is Hawaiian for rainbow)

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Habibi Lawel - Habiba Msika (Sharouh Remix). Habiba Msika is Jewish Tunisian singer from the 1920's. Free woman, openly bisexual, she smashes all the taboos of the Tunisian society in the early XXth century with her songs about female desire and sexuality, which makes her a big inspiration for me and for many others. For all women fighting for their freedom. 

Bad Feminist - Madonna speech // Serenity, Popof (Sharouh Mashup). This track is a mashup I made with Madonna's speech when she was awarded women of the year in 2016 and the track Serenity by Popof. I found this speech so powerful insofar as it fights misogyny and hypocrisy by standing for the right of women to own their sexuality and by underlining that self-belief is the key to empowerment.