Inspired by an informative show, Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon, villages in UP frankly discuss and promote sex education at home
India’s rural communities remain underserved when it comes to information and education about sexual health, birth control, issues pertaining to adolescence, teen pregnancies, menstrual needs and more. However, an informative and entertaining show, Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon (MKBKSH) has played a significant role in normalising taboo conversations in Bairia village in the Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh.
This change is remarkable because even in educated, urban families, talking about subjects like reproduction and sex is quite unheard of. Parents in Bairia are however taking the lead to initiate such difficult conversations. The series has also inspired young girls in Bihar’s Nawada district to create a sanitary pad bank and Bundelkhand’s 23-year-old Ladkunwar Kushwaha to break social stereotypes to pursue her college education.
Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director of Population Foundation of India, that produced this entertainment education show is happy that the organisation’s attempt to bring potentially life changing content to India’s rural communities is successfully working. She says, “Adolescence is a time of change and very often young people turn to either their peers or the internet for information. Due to lack of resources, many young people are unable to access correct and non-judgmental information about their health and wellbeing. Instead, they are fed on an unhealthy diet of whatever is served online. I am happy about the initiative as a healthy discussion related to sexual activities within the family can go a long way in encouraging the next generation to make important decisions about their reproductive and sexual health, including contraception and planning their families.”
A 16-year-old, Priya Singh from Bairia village says, “After watching the serial, my mother has started talking very openly about these things.” Her mother, 34-year-old Suman Singh, who exemplifies the attitudinal change, explains why this was necessary. Says she, “My husband and I had hidden a condom packet at home and our daughter found it. I realised that if I don’t tell her, she will ask somebody else about the questions that were on her mind. I needed to be honest and frank. So I told her that this was a contraceptive that prevents pregnancy as well as sexually transmitted diseases.”
It wasn’t always like this in their home though, “Earlier, I would hide such things from them. After watching the show, there was a complete shift in my attitude. Earlier my husband too wanted our girls to study only till class five or eight but now he stops me from discussing their early marriage,” says she. Her husband, Pradeep Singh (38) adds, “I know now that a small family is a happy family. The larger the family, the more problems it has to deal with.”
Influenced by Dr Sneha Mathur, the protagonist of the series, a Sneha Group has also been formed where women as well as girls discuss issues like family planning, hygiene and sanitation. The women in the group say in unison, “Yes, we talk openly about family planning, menstruation, hygiene and sanitation. We don’t hide anything from our children. Now our girls are learning a great deal about menstruation. Earlier they wouldn’t share anything. We learnt so much about sanitation from the serial. We now know that a toilet at home is important for convenience as well as for preventing diseases. We are taking forward the message of the series, ‘Build a toilet and close the door to diseases.”’
The creator of the show, film and theatre director Feroz Abbas Khan says, “Content can just be entertaining or it can drive home an important message without sounding condescending. It is important to respect our audiences, to appeal to their intelligence and to satisfy their thirst for information they otherwise have no access to. Through the series, we have tried to normalise conversations that are usually not discussed openly. And I am very encouraged that we have managed to break the taboos to the extent that parents in far-flung rural areas are now discussing family planning with their kids.”
Monday, 02 November 2020 | Team Viva
