MEETING MEENA

 

Little Meena is a bundle of fun and enthusiasm. She lives with her parents, grandmother, younger brother Raju, baby sister Rani and pet Parrot and best friend Mithu.

Meena is very curious and always full of questions: Why can't girls go to school? Why do girls get a smaller share of food? Why are girls married off early? Why do parents prefer boys to girls?

Is Meena a Super Hero? Is she an angel in disguise?

She is neither. Meena is an enchanting and immensely likeable animated character. But, she could well be real. She mirrors and portrays the concern of children.

The Meena stories primarily address issues relating to children, and are told in an entertaining and humorous fashion. The stories enable children to enhance their self-esteem and self- worth, and familiarize them with life skills essential for their empowerment.

The enabling relationship that Meena has with Raju is a model for improved gender relationships from an early age. Affectionate and playful, Raju pleads with his father to allow Meena to go to school with him, and is so proud and happy when she later joins him in school. He offers to share Meena's household chores, which gives her enough time to play and study. Not surprising, then , that many brothers want to emulate Raju .

In a village in Bihar, a little boy took his sister to school one day and when the asked him why, the boy replied. “Don't you remember the Meena story? Meena's brother takes her to school! This is my sister and she doesn't go to school. So I have brought her.”

Mithu also plays a pivotal role in the Meena stories. One day, after watching seven or eight Meena films, two girls in Bihar started chatting. The five- year- old said, “I want to be like Meena but I can't because I don't have Mithu. “To this the eight-year-old replied, “Mithu is not real. He is just Meena's self-confidence. So anyone can be like Meena.”