Opinion: Could the entertainment industry help end child marriage?
We all love a good drama — be it on screen, in real life, or on the radio. In the U.K., EastEnders and The Archers radio series are incredibly popular for their cliffhanger storylines and portrayals of real life and personal dilemmas. The same goes in the U.S. for Serial and Girls. Dig deeper and it becomes apparent that these programs shed light, create empathy, and offer solutions to social problems hidden behind closed doors, such as domestic violence, substance abuse, illness and homelessness.
Entertainment as a means to encourage people to understand, reflect, or take action has been used as a tool in the international development sector for decades. It has helped reduce HIV/AIDS transmission and encourage basic sanitation, breastfeeding and healthy eating. More recently, it seems this could be an intelligent way to address complex, and often culturally and historically rooted issues, such as child marriage. Read more here: