Meena is a cartoon show made for children. The series is aired on DD National. The show was an initiative by UNICEF. It was made to teach the kids different things in India. In India, there was the inequality between a boy and a girl child. The cartoon tried to tell children that these are nothing but taboo that needs to be eradicated. The show had a total of 37 episodes. In the show, there was a girl named Meena, she had a brother named Raju, and a pet parrot named Mithu. She lived with her parents and grandparents. In each episode, they tried to eradicate a social problem and teach kids things related to these problems.
In one episode, Meena wants to go to school, but her parents don't want to send her to school because she is a girl. They don't think that a girl child should be educated. They think that a girl should learn how to cook and get married to a man. But she forces her parents into going to school. The episode teaches that everyone should go to school irrespective of their gender. In another episode, a girl from her village is getting married. Her In-laws are asking a huge dowry in return. Family members of the bride are unable to afford the amount asked in the dowery. In the episode, Meena makes them understand that one should not ask for dowry as it is a bad thing. Later they realize that she is right and all say no to dowry. In another episode, Meena and her brother Raju are having dinner. Her grandmother gives Raju two eggs while gives Meena only one egg. Her grandmother says that Meena does nothing and she needs less food while Raju goes to school so he needs more food. In this episode, Meena tries to tell them that this is wrong, and everyone needs the same amount of nutrition, and it does not depend on gender. She asks for equality. At the end of the episode, her grandmother respects her decision and gives both of them the same amount of eggs.
Her popularity is due to her not being closely bound to just one country or culture of South Asia, but uniting the common characteristics of them all. Her creation is partly due to the UNICEF, an organization that supports the growing educational awareness of South Asia through Meena and her stories. Later it has simulcast on DD National as well.
It was 34 episodes series, the episodes were:
- Count Your Chickens
- Dividing the Mango
- Will Meena Leave School?
- Who’s Afraid of the Bully?
- Saving a Life
- Meena’s Three Wishes
- Say No to Dowry
- Too Young to Marry
- Take Care of Girls
- I Love School
- It’s Got to Be a Boy!
- Meena in the City
- AIDS: A Girl’s Story
- Learning to Love
- Strangers in the Village
- Reaching Out
- Meena and Her Friend
- It Could Happen to Anyone
- The Girls Came Back
- When Meena was Born
- When Meena was a Little Girl
- Seeing in the Dark
- Health in your Hands
- Safe from Worms
- Fair Play for Girls
- Baby Rani’s Four Visits
- We Love Books
- Learning with Meena
- School First, Marriage Later
- Teacher Helps to Learn
- Let’s Go to School Together
- Learning Can be Fun
- Life has Changed
- Life smiled again