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MKBKSH Evaluation Brochure - Season One |
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Main Kuch Bhi
Kar Sakti Hoon
An Entertainment Education Initiative
Season One
Evaluating changes
in Knowledge, Attitudes &
Practices in Reproductive Health
and Gender Issues
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Population Foundation of India
Population Foundation of India (PFI) launched an
entertainment education initiative, Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti
Hoon (I, a woman, can achieve anything), with a TV and radio
serial as its fulcrum in March 2014. The drama series while
challenging existing social and cultural norms around family
planning, early marriage, domestic violence and sex selection,
aimed at increasing knowledge and changing perception
and attitudes of people on social determinants of health and
family planning.
The first 52 episodes of the series (Season One) were aired on
Doordarshan to capitalise on its massive reach and viewership.
The show was telecast at 7 pm on weekends. A radio version1
of the serial and an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)
for audience engagement were also launched. On ground
promotional activities were undertaken in five districts each in
the states of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar during the period.
Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, being the project states, were
selected for the baseline and end line evaluations. Together,
the two states account for nearly 15% of India’s population
and have high fertility rates and an unmet need for family
planning. There is also urgent need to increase the age of
marriage and first birth, and knowledge of and access to
quality family planning services in these two states.
marriage, son preference, gender discrimination, domestic
violence and sex selection.
For the end line evaluation, a listing of 30,000 households
each in seven districts of Bihar and nine districts of Madhya
Pradesh was done. A sample size of 3261 married men and
women, and mothers-in-law who had been exposed to the
series on TV and radio was taken. The end line also measured
the reach and recall of the TV series among the target
audience. The research design for the intervention is shown in
Figure 1.
Sample size covered in baseline and end line surveys
Men
Women Mothers-in-law
Baseline
1220
1214
977
End line
1151
1258
852
Design & Methodology
Study Design & Methodology
A baseline survey was carried out in February-March 2014 and
the endline evaluation of Season One took place in February-
March 2015.The aim was to assess the changes in Knowledge,
Attitude and Practices (KAP) on family planning, child
1 The serial was aired across 94 Primary Channels/Local Radio Stations, 24 FM
Stations and 37 VividhBharati Stations, which together reach the remotest parts of
the country. The 15-minute-long episodes were heard on AIR VividhBharati at 3 pm;
on AIR FM Gold at 10.05 am; on AIR FM Rainbow at 6 pm and on the AIR Primary
Channels at 12.05pm.
Figure 1
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Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon: An Entertainment Education Initiative
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Reach
The study showed that 36% of TV owning households in the
two states watched Season One: 42% in Bihar and 34% in
Madhya Pradesh.The series also reached 72% households who
owned radios.
Forty per cent of respondents who were in the 15-24 years
age group (youth) had watched the show. Half the married
women who watched the show were in the age group of 18-
24 years. The average age of the women who watched the
Series was 24 years.
Changes that took place
Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon was seen by the audience
as a sincere portrayal of the reality, and not as an
exaggerated over dramatic show. Embedding social messages
in an entertaining way into the storyline was perceived to be
its primary strength.
Social issues like child marriage, son preference, domestic
violence, sex selection, alcoholism were taken up and resolved
effectively in the series. This gave people the confidence to
take action when faced with similar situations.
Other serials show child marriage but not how
to stop it and why it should not be allowed...I
like the approach of Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti
Hoon.”
A respondent at a Focus Group
Discussion (FGD), Bihar
An aunt from the Mathur family promotes the girls’ football team
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Population Foundation of India
Increase in knowledge on adverse consequences of
early marriage
The entertainment education initiative seeks to create
awareness among the community about a woman’s right to
live her life on her own terms, which includes her decision
on when she should get married. The direct identification
and connect with the situations faced by the characters in
the series and the relevance of these in their own lives was
appreciated by all respondents.
The proportion of women who felt that early marriage led to a
loss of opportunity for education increased significantly from
24% in the baseline survey to 39% in the end line survey.
Also, a significantly higher proportion of men, women and
mothers-in-law after being exposed to the series agreed that
early marriage posed a risk to the lives of the mother and child
as shown in Figure 2.
increased across all target groups from baseline to end
line
• for women from 73% to 83%
• for men from 78% to 85% and
• for mothers-in-law from 59% to 80%
The increase was especially significant among respondents
who were illiterate as shown in Figure 3.
Awareness about the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act
*
*
*
*
*
* significant at p<0.05
Figure 2
Increase in knowledge of the Prohibition of Child
Marriage Act and the Legal Age at Marriage
The level of awareness regarding the Prohibition of Child
Marriage Act among respondents exposed to the series
* significant at p<0.05
Figure 3
Positive shift towards the ideal age for a woman to
have her first child
The proportion of women exposed to the series who think
that the “ideal age for a woman to have her first child is 21-
25 years” increased from the baseline figure of 38% to 46%.
The proportion of married women who thought that a 2-3 year
gap between pregnancies was important increased from 57%
during the baseline survey to 63% in the end line survey. There
was also a significant decrease of 8 percentage points from 23%
in the baseline to 15% in the end line survey among women
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Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon: An Entertainment Education Initiative
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who now believed that a 1-2 year gap was enough. Among the
mothers-in-law who watched or heard the show, the change in
response rate was even more striking as shown in Figure 4.
*
Table 1: The next child would be healthier as a result of
family planning
% of respondents who agreed with
the statement
Baseline
Survey
End line
Survey
Change
(% points)
Women
31
38
7
Men
63
71
8
* significant at p<0.05
Figure 4
Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon is
different. The greatness of a girl is shown,
and that of her father, who is a teacher. He
educates her very well...I think we should
follow his footsteps.”
A female health worker during an in-depth
interview, Bihar
Increase in awareness on the benefits of family planning
There was a perceptible increase in the proportion of men, women
and mothers-in-law who thought that the next child would be
healthier as a result of family planning as shown in Table 1.
Similarly, the proportion of women who felt that they had
better control over finances due to family planning went up by
8 percentage points - from 31% in the baseline to 39% in the
end line survey.
Mothers-in-law
31
39
8
Increase in awareness of family planning methods
Awareness of modern spacing methods among women
also rose. The awareness of male sterilisation as a method
increased sharply across all target groups over baseline to
endline – in men from 77% to 92%, in women from 69% to
87%, and among mothers-in-law from 48% to 64% as shown
in Table 2 (next page).
Similarly, more women - from 40% in the baseline to 44% in
the end line survey - were now aware of modern methods
such as IUDs. And more men - from 71% in the baseline to
75% in the end line survey - were aware of male condoms.
Increase in modern methods of contraceptive usage
The proportion of women not using any family planning
method decreased from 61% in the baseline to 51% in the
end line survey, while use of modern methods increased by 4
percentage points from 25% in the baseline to 29% in the end
line survey.
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Population Foundation of India
Table 2: Awareness regarding male sterilisation
% of respondents were aware of male
sterilisation methods
Baseline
Survey
End line
Survey
Change
(% points)
Women
69
87
18
Men
Mothers-in-law
77
92
15
48
64
16
Figure 5 shows that the programme has had a strong
impact on perceptions regarding modern methods of
contraception.
Positive shift in attitudes and perception towards
family planning
There was an increase in the proportion of both men and
women who were confident of accessing family planning
services - by 12 percentage points among women (from
47% in the baseline to 59% in the end line) and four
percentage points among men (from 73% in the baseline
to 77% in the end line survey) as shown in Figure 6.
The end line survey also showed a 14 percentage points
increase in the proportion of women (from 43% in the
baseline to 57% in the end line) who realised that it was
“important not to go on having children till a son was
born”, and a 8% increase among those who agreed
that it was the right of a woman to decide when to have
children.
* significant at p<0.05
Figure 5
Figure 6
Awareness of law increased
The series had messages on the law on sex determination
and the fact that it is a man who is responsible for the sex
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Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon: An Entertainment Education Initiative
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of the child. Awareness among men, women and mothers-
in-law about the law to prevent sex determination increased
significantly as shown in Figure 7.
*
*
*
* significant at p<0.05
I was disturbed by the story of Dr Sneha’s
sister, Seema, who was forced to abort her
foetus of 6 months, and because of which she
died. We should inform people about the risk
and ask them not to do this for want of sons.”
A woman during a Focus Group Discussion in Madhya
Pradesh
tribulations. The serial has successfully promoted women’s
empowerment as a key agenda.
There was a significant impact on the attitudes of women
towards gender equality and women’s empowerment over the
baseline as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 7
This change was more noticeable among men and mothers-
in-law who regularly watched TV and listened to the radio
broadcast than among women who did.
Positive shift in perception and attitudes towards
women’s empowerment
The edutainment intervention had aimed at increasing
women’s empowerment, informing women and society about
their rights and their role in household decision making, and
gender equality.
Women’s attitude on gender discrimination and equality
between men and women with regard to household
responsibilities and who is having final say in the decision
making improved for those who were exposed to the
intervention. The respondents were able to relate with the
main protagonist Dr. Sneha’s inspiring role showcased in the
serial and empathized with the characters and their trials and
*
*
*
* significant at p<0.05
Figure 8
The response of a woman as to whether she has the right to
decide if she wants to continue with her pregnancy increased
by 13 percentage points - from 63% in the baseline to 76% in
the endline survey. Moreover, the positive response of women
increased with their exposure to the series as shown in
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Population Foundation of India
Figure 9. While the awareness of women exposed to the
programme improved on negative consequences of an early
motherhood, more women from the exposed group strongly
agreed that it is the woman’s right to decide how many children
she should have.
Figure 9
The attitude of women on their agency, particularly related
to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) has improved among
those who were exposed to the intervention. Women were
able to identify with the SRH issues shown in the serial.
More men and women now believe that domestic
violence is not acceptable
A positive shift in the attitude of men and women was
observed when asked about domestic violence.
There was an even greater decrease (of 22 percentage
points from 66% in the baseline to 44% in the endline survey)
among men who believed that women should be beaten on
suspicion of unfaithfulness. The results related to women are
shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Attitudes towards domestic violence
A woman deserves
to be beaten if
the husband suspects
her of being unfaithful
she neglects the
house and children
% of women respondents who agreed
with the statement
Baseline
Survey
End line
Survey
Change
(% points)
71
40
31
49
28
21
she argues with him
45
33
12
she refuses sex with
her husband
14
6
8
she wants to delay
her pregnancy
9
5
4
The cast of Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon
Contact
Alok Vajpeyi
Head, Core Grants and Knowledge Management
Population Foundation of India,
B-28 Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi -110016
E-mail: avajpeyi@populationfoundation.in