New TV drama series focussing on gender and HIV & AIDS (India)
Nivedita is a 26-episode television serial drama advocating human rights, gender equality, and a reduction in HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. It is part of a larger project developed by Avatar Entertainment based on entertainment-education and behaviour change communication models and is the culmination of 3 years of primary and secondary research and pre-testing. This process revealed that there is high "AIDS awareness" in that state of Andhra Pradesh. However, "[a]lmost universally, high awareness of HIV-AIDS co-exists with risk-taking behavior. Multi-partner sex, the highest risk factor for HIV transmission in India, is actually increasing in Andhra Pradesh....It is men who generally decide when and with whom to have intercourse and whether or not to use condoms. Most women lack the capacity to negotiate abstinence or a condom with their male sex partners."
You can read more about how Nivedita wants to change behaviour towards women.
Episodes started airing on January 3, 2010 and will continue airing until July 11, 2010. And, most importantly, you don't need to live in India to watch the show. You can watch past and future episodes right here!
(all info taken from www.comminit.com/en/node/311824/347)
