I just came across a fascinating article in Foreign Policy magazine that claims television is one of the strongest tools for societal change out there today. It claims that when people start viewing television shows, their ideas about the role of women, family size, response to international events, and traditional cultural norms begin to change.
Who knew?
Photo by Olivier EPRON
In fact, the article states that in many impoverished countries, more households have televisions (battery-powered) than electricity. This is certainly true among the members of BeadforLife. I have seen more than one household with a small black-and-white TV, covered with a cloth, in a place of prominence in the living room.
I curb my suspicions that the money would have been better spent on children’s education by acknowledging that a family knows their needs far better than I do. And now here is research showing that a TV may actually be a tool for social change!
Shows that are popular around the world include soap operas and American Idol-type programs from each country. Shows often portray women working outside the home, running businesses, controlling money, and choosing to have small families. One study has found that giving a village access to cable TV can have the same effect on fertility rates as increasing by five years the length of time girls stay in school!
Uganda has one of the highest birth rates in the entire world, and growing population pressures impact the availability of arable land, firewood, water, and urban migration. Perhaps a TV in every hut should be our next initiative?
