Meena (TV series)
Meena is a South Asian children's television series created by UNICEF. It has been broadcast in English, Bengali, Hindi, Nepali, and Urdu languages and first aired on television in 1993 on Bangladesh Television. It has since been broadcast on state television in seven SAARC countries, including DD National in India. Ram Mohan, a famous Indian cartoonist, is the creator of the titular character Meena while UNICEF's Neill McKee was the series creator.[1][3]
| Meena | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Meena cartoon |
| Genre | Children's television series Animated television series |
| Created by | Neill McKee Ram Mohan[1] |
| Developed by | UNICEF, Hanna-Barbera[2] |
| Written by | Neill McKee |
| Directed by | Ram Mohan Derek Lamb |
| Creative director | Mira Aghi[1] |
| Composer | Raghunath Seth |
| Country of origin |
|
| Original languages |
|
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 37 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Christian Clark |
| Producer | Christian Clark |
| Cinematography | Richard Chuidian Dashrath Tharali |
| Animators | Sanjeev Waeerkar Chris Cuddington |
| Editors | Arun Gogate Celso Dumlao Mario Dumlao |
| Running time | ~20 min |
| Production companies | United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Future Thought Productions UTV Toons V Animates Production Fil-Cartoons |
| Release | |
| Original network | Bangladesh Television |
| Original release | 1993 |
Objective
The cartoon series is produced with the support of UNICEF as part of a program to raise awareness against various social inequalities in South Asian countries and to educate children. Awareness created through Meena cartoons includes stopping child marriages, encouraging the construction and use of hygienic toilets, sending girls to school, giving more importance to education than marriage of young girls, stopping dowry, equal nutrition and opportunities for boys and girls.[4][5] Meena Day is celebrated on 24 September every year in South Asia, Africa and East Asia.
History
From 1991 to 2000, the United Nations declared a decade for South Asian girls. UNICEF is responsible for its expansion. At that time, Bangladesh agreed with the Danish Government to provide financial assistance for the production of animated cartoons in South Asia. Meena started its journey in 1990 under the leadership of Neil McKee and Cole Dodge, UNICEF Bangladesh Communication Department.[6] The name Meena is suggested by Shamsuddin Ahmed considering the people of all the countries in the South Asian region. Ram Mohan from Mumbai, India draws on each character's costume and appearance. The first episode of the Meena cartoon, 'Count Your Chickens", was made at the US animation studio Hanna Barbera in the Philippines. Later on, Meena cartoons were made at Ram Mohan Studios in Mumbai. At present, Meena cartoons are made in Bangladesh.[7] Rachel Carnegie worked as a consultant for UNICEF's Meena project. Nuzhat Shahzadi and Dr. Mira Aghi of India were involved in the project.[4]
Episodes
There are 37 Meena episodes.
| No. | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Count Your Chickens" | |
| Meena wishes to go to school, but her parents see no purpose to this, because she is a girl. To overcome this problem, Meena enlists the help of her parrot, Mithu, who memorizes the school lesson and relays it to her after class. As a result, Meena learns how to count in twos. She counts her family's chickens and realizes that one is missing. It turns out that a thief has stolen the chicken. The villagers chase the thief and are able to recover the chicken. As a result of this incident, Meena's parents realize the value of education and allow her to attend school along with her brother, Raju.[8] | ||
| 2 | "Dividing the Mango" | |
| Meena's mother feeds her younger brother, Raju, a bigger portion than Meena because he is a boy. Meena believes this is unfair so she and Raju switch places for a day to see what it is like. Raju has to do all of Meena's household chores such as feeding the chickens, sweeping the floors and drawing water. Meena has to do Raju's chores; however, there is less work to do and Meena spends a lot of the day playing. Raju comes home at the end of the day and tells his parents how difficult it was to do all of Meena's chores. The episode ends with Raju and Meena receiving the same meal portions.[9] | ||
| 3 | "Will Meena Leave School?" | |
| Meena's father is worried because the family has run out of money. Meena and her father have to go to the shopkeeper to get a loan of rice. The shopkeeper tries to cheat them by increasing the amount of the debt, but Meena stops him due to her ability to read. Meanwhile, the mother is looking for ways to earn money. The school teacher visits their home and tells the mother that she can work from home. The family buys a cow, as well as a bike so the father can sell the milk in the village. The shopkeeper tells them that if the family cannot repay the debt, then he will take the cow, the calf and Mithu. Meena's father gets a fever so he is unable to sell the milk in the village. Meena and Raju go instead, but their bike crashes, which delays their ability to repay the debt to the shopkeeper. Mithu carries the money back home instead so that the debt is repaid in time. | ||
| 4 | "Who's Afraid of the Bully?" | |
| Meena and her friends get together to solve the problem of bullies.[10] | ||
| 5 | "Saving a Life" | |
| Meena saves baby Rani when she has diarrhea. | ||
| 6 | "Meena's Three Wishes" | |
| Meena dreams of a genie in a magic lamp who grants her three wishes about the hygiene and sanitation of her village people. As she wakes up, she decides to fulfil those wishes herself, as there is no magic lamp holding a genie for real. She then tackles the issues of hygiene and sanitation with the help of Raju, Mithu and all her friends. | ||
| 7 | "Say No to Dowry" | |
| Meena and her family question the practice of dowry. In Meena's village, there is a poor family with a daughter named Tara. The shopkeeper and his brother meet with Tara's father about Tara's marriage with the Shopkeeper's nephew. The Shopkeeper's family is greedy. They don't realize that Tara's family are poor, and continually request dowry. One day Mithu was on the window of the shopkeeper's house. He sees that they plan to want more dowry after marriage such as bicycle at first and then a motorcycle. Mithu informs Meena and Tara on this topic. Tara's family becomes confused. At last they close this plan of marriage and inform their neighbors. | ||
| 8 | "Too Young to Marry" | |
| Can Meena help her cousin who is being married before the legal age? | ||
| 9 | "Take Care of Girls" | |
| Girls and boys have an equal right to health care. | ||
| 10 | "I Love School" | |
| A good teacher makes all the difference. | ||
| 11 | "It's Got to Be a Boy!" | |
| Meena teaches her uncle to welcome the birth of girls and boys equally. | ||
| 12 | "Meena in the City" | |
| Meena experiences the life of a domestic child worker. | ||
| 13 | "AIDS: A Girl's Story" | |
| Meena helps challenge stigma and some myths about HIV/AIDS. | ||
| 14 | "Learning to Love" | |
| Children need stimulation, care and play from an early age, and fathers' involvement in their development is important. | ||
| 15 | "Strangers in the Village" | |
| Coping with differences and peace building in conflict situations | ||
| 16 | "Reaching Out" | |
| Community care and support for people living with HIV and AIDS | ||
| 17 | "Meena and Her Friend" | |
| Iodine deficiency disorders and support for children suffering from IDD | ||
| 18 | "It Could Happen to Anyone" | |
| Keeping children safe from accidents, including road accidents among adolescents | ||
| 19 | "The Girls Came Back" | |
| Trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls | ||
| 20 | "When Meena was Born" | |
| Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and complementary feeding along with breast milk after that | ||
| 21 | "When Meena was a Little Girl" | |
| Low birth weight among infants and its prevention | ||
| 22 | "Seeing in the Dark" | |
| Vitamin A deficiency and prevention | ||
| 23 | "Health in your Hands" | |
| The importance of hand washing to be healthy | ||
| 24 | "Safety from Worms" | |
| Worm infestation and prevention | ||
| 25 | "Fair Play for Girls" | |
| Girls' right to play and recreation | ||
| 26 | "Baby Rani's Four Visits" | |
| The importance of EPI (immunization) | ||
| 27 | "We Love Books" | |
| The need for quality learning materials for education | ||
| 28 | "Learning with Meena" | |
| The importance of educating girls | ||
| 29 | "School First, Marriage Later" | |
| Prevention of early marriage and retention of older girls in school | ||
| 30 | "Teacher Helps to Learn" | |
| Quality of education in classroom situations | ||
| 31 | "Let's Go to School Together" | |
| Retention of girls in school (after primary) | ||
| 32 | "Learning Can be Fun" | |
| Need for quality education | ||
| 33 | "Life has Changed" | |
| While Meena is at school, an earthquake occurs. When people arrive from affected villages, Meena bonds with a new girl at her school who was separated from her parents in the earthquake. | ||
| 34 | "Meena in Mythes Country" | |
| Right way to baby birth | ||
| 35 | "Angel's Story" | |
| Helping episode | ||
| 36 | "Meena Came Back to the Village" | |
| Stopping children's persecution | ||
| 37 | "Life Smiled Again" | |
| The episode is based on the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. Many families from affected areas come to Meena's village for shelter and protection. Meena becomes friends with a girl named Nasreen and helps her find her family. | ||
Characters
- Meena: Main character.
- Raju: Meena's younger brother.
- Mithu: Mina's closest friend and her pet parrot.
- Rani: Meena-Raju's younger sister.
- Grandmother: Meena-Raju's old grandmother.
- Parents: Meena-Raju's parents.
- Lali: Meena's cow.
- Munmun: Meena's goat.
- Leder: The leading personality of the village.
- Shopkeeper: Feudal, oppressive, deceitful man. He has a shop in the market and his son has just passed medical from the city. He is the main villain in the cartoon series.
- Rita: A sister studying in the upper class of School, where Meena studies in. She was later married to the shopkeeper's son.
- Dipu: Meena's naughty friend. Mithu helps Dipu to become aware at different times.
- Teacher of the school: She helps Meena with various problems with time and wise advice.
There has also been the arrival of different characters in different series at different times.
- Aunt: Meena-Raju's father's elder sister. Bad-tempered, cruel woman.
Other activities
UNICEF Bangladesh launched the UNICEF Meena Media Award in 2005 to create awareness among journalists for better reporting on children in the media. In 2012, UNICEF launched a live radio show featuring Meena, Mithu and Raju as presenters. In 2016, on the 70th anniversary of UNICEF, it launched the 'Meena Game'.[11]
References
- Chesterton, Paul (May 2004). "Evaluation of the Meena Communication Initiative" (PDF). unicef.org. Kathmandu: UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - McKee, Neill (1 May 1996). "Meena and Sara: Two Characters in Search of a Brighter Future for Women". Animation World Network.
- প্রতিবেদক, নিজস্ব. "মীনা কার্টুনের স্রষ্টা রামমোহন আর নেই". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- "মীনা: সামাজিক মূল্যবোধ পরিবর্তনকারী এক যুগান্তকারী চরিত্র". টুনস ম্যাগ বাংলা. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- "Meena Communication Initiative". Unicef. 2008-02-20. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- "Meena's journey of three decades". The Business Standard. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- প্রতিবেদক, নিজস্ব. "'এটি একটি ভালো কাজ হয়েছে'". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- "Meena - Count Your Chickens" (PDF). unicef.org. UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Meena - Dividing the Mango" (PDF). unicef.org. UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Meena - Who is Afraid of the Bully" (PDF). unicef.org. UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "মীনা ও ইউনিসেফ". www.unicef.org (in Bengali). Retrieved 2022-02-24.
External links
- Meena at IMDb
- "Meena and UNICEF". UNICEF Bangladesh.
- "Meena cartoon". UNICEF Nepal.