India’s NGO gets recognition at SIGI launch event in Paris for its women empowerment programme

• SIGI is a cross-country measure of discrimination against women in social institutions.
• ‘Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon’ programme was directed by the leading film and theatre director, Feroz Abbas Khan.
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare played instrumental role in success of the programme.

In a matter of pride for the country, Population Foundation of India’s entertainment education programme got recognition in Paris at Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) launch event. Named ‘Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon’, the programme aims at empowering women and helping them tackle discrimination.

Steered by the OECD Development Centre, SIGI is a cross-country measure of discrimination against women in social institutions across 179 countries. The SIGI launch event was titled “When discriminatory social norms hinder gender equality: How can donors and partners act?”

‘Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon’ programme was directed by the leading film and theatre director, Feroz Abbas Khan. It used the power of Entertainment Education (EE) to trigger changes in attitudes and behaviours of people.

Delivering the keynote address titled ‘Challenging gender stereotypes through entertainment’, executive director of Population Foundation of India Poonam Muttreja said at the event that challenges faced by women have exacerbated after the pandemic.

Asserting that behaviour change does not happen in isolation, she underscored the need of effective communication to bring about a change in society and families.

“Since its launch in 2014 and over three seasons, MKBKSH has had a cumulative reach of over 150 million over television and radio through India’s large, government-run public broadcasting channels,” she said.

Highlighting the role of the government in the success of MKBKSH, Muttreja said with the help of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare the programme reached one million frontline workers.

Muttreja also presented real-life stories of champions who, inspired by MKBKSH, chose to challenge societal norms by spreading awareness on family planning, gender-based violence and women’s empowerment in their communities.

Population Foundation of India is a national non-government organisation (NGO), which promotes and advocates for the effective formulation and implementation of gender sensitive policies.

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