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Rewrite the Rules, Make Taxes Work for Women

By March 31, 2021May 2nd, 2024No Comments

“Rewrite the Rules, Make Taxes Work for Women” is a theme song produced by the Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD) for its campaign on tax and gender justice. The song urges listeners to make taxes work for women and to “rewrite the rules that oppress us.” It is inspired by the calls of women that have intensified with the deepening inequalities across the globe amidst the Covid19 pandemic, economic recession, and, climate emergency.

Performed by Meggy Katigbak, the song was launched on 17 March 2021 during a CSW65 (sixty-fifth session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women) NGO Virtual Parallel Event called “A Tapestry of Women’s Voices Fighting the Multiple Crises.”

The song seeks to inspire solidarity and action. It is to be shared, sung, amplified. We would appreciate if you let us know how you’ve used the song or the music video.

 

APMDD’s demands for tax and fiscal justice:

  • Reduce Unfair Tax Burden on Women
  • Remove gender bias and discriminatory provisions in tax policies
  • Recognise, represent, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work
  • Increase allocation of tax revenues for public services.
  • Stop corporate tax abuse. Stop illicit financial flows. Establish a democratic, inclusive and transparent Global Tax Body under the auspices of the UN

Lyrics

CHORUS

Rewrite the rules
Make taxes work for women
Rewrite the rules
Make taxes work for women

VERSE I

Society, for centuries
condemned us-brutally fit us
into a mold they shaped for us
one that they always formed for us

Women have struggled, toiled, and fought
We have fought to be seen and won-
We have won the right of suffrage
We still have many fights to win

VERSE II

I grow the food and cook the meal
But have no place at your table
That’s the rule, you say, that’s the rule
But life should not be so cruel

Who set the rules, it’s you, you say
All the care, work, and taxes I pay
From what little that I own
But where does my money go?

VERSE III

Every day, everywhere, we pay
Taxes to eat, to heal, to die
You bury us in taxes
You rest on our belabored backs

Now we shout “tax the rich, not the poor!”
Rewrite the rules to make them right
For justice and equality
Rewrite the rules, we want them right!

BRIDGE

Rewrite the rules that oppress us
Make taxes work for women’s rights!