A radio jingle to end child marriage in West Bengal
Shelter for Her Empowerment, an organisation in West Bengal, India, has campaigned against child marriage for a year. Here it describes a radio jingle that is part of that work.
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The campaign
The campaign runs under the project "Girls Not Bride – Right to be a Girl", funded by Mundo Cooperante. It includes door-to-door visits, seminars, interactive meetings and street and intimate theatre.
The organisation also arranged for a jingle to be aired by the radio broadcaster Aamar FM. The jingle lasts only 30 seconds, but it contains all the warnings against child marriage. The parents of a girl are first called and then warned about the harm of child marriage.
Reach and needs
According to the organisation, the broadcast reaches about 800 to 900 thousand listeners in West Bengal. The jingle was scheduled to air only 36 times, from 18 March to 12 June 2019.
Encouraged by this success, the organisation wants to spread the message more widely across West Bengal, with longer and more frequent broadcasts. It says a lack of funds stops it from strengthening and continuing this work, and it asks well-wishers to support the cause.