Meena (1993 TV series)

Meena is a pan-South Asian children's animated television series created by UNICEF. It has been broadcast in English, Bengali, Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, Odia and Dari languages and first aired on television in 1993 on Bangladesh Television. It has since been broadcast on state television in seven SAARC countries, including DD National in India. Ram Mohan, a famous Indian cartoonist, is the creator of the titular character Meena while UNICEF's Neill McKee was the series creator.^[1][3]

The cartoon series and multimedia initiative produced with the support of UNICEF and its donors as part of a program to raise awareness against various social inequalities in South Asian countries and to educate children, parents, and community leaders. Awareness created through Meena cartoons includes stopping child marriages, encouraging the construction and use of hygienic toilets, sending girls to school, giving more importance to education than marriage of young girls, stopping dowry, equal nutrition and opportunities for boys and girls.^[4][5] Meena Day is still celebrated today on 24 September every year in some countries of South Asia.

From 1991 to 2000, the United Nations declared a decade for South Asian girls. UNICEF is responsible for its expansion. At that time, Bangladesh agreed with the Norwegian Government to provide financial assistance for the production of animated cartoons in South Asia. Meena started its journey in 1990 under the leadership of Neill McKee, Chief of UNICEF Bangladesh Communication Section.^[6] The name "Meena" was suggested by Shamsuddin Ahmed of UNICEF, Dhaka and was chosen among other suggestions after careful research throughout the region, which including research on character designs and backgrounds. The late Ram Mohan from Mumbai, was the genius animated film artist and producer behind the success and longevity of Meena. He worked with the animation studio of Hanna Barbera in the Philippines to produce the first few episodes and then later produced many more regional episodes at his studio in Mumbai. Later, Meena cartoons were made in Bangladesh with technical advice from Ram Mohan, under the direction of Mira Mitra, who became the overall coordinator in that country.^[7] In the first few years, Rachel Carnegie worked as a consultant with Neill McKee to coordinate and facilitate the creation of the Meena series, involving UNICEF officers in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Dr. Mira Aghi from New Delhi was the lead researcher who trained and supervised researchers throughout South Asia, including on story lines. Nuzhat Shahzadi became the project leader in Bangladesh, and Christian Clarke became the regional coordinator, based at UNICEF's regional office in Kathmandu. Later, Nuzhat Shahzadi took over from him.^[4]

There are 31 regional Meena episodes and 14 produced in Bangladesh. See this link to view the regional series and download comic books: https://www.neillmckeevideos.com/meena A brief description of many of the episodes in provided below.

• Meena: Main character.
• Raju: Meena's younger brother.
• Mithu: Mina's closest friend and her pet parrot.
• Rani: Meena-Raju's younger sister.
• Grandmother: Meena-Raju's old grandmother.
• Parents: Meena-Raju's parents.
• Lali: Meena's cow.
• Munmun: Meena's goat.
• Leder: The leading personality of the village.
• Shopkeeper: Feudal, oppressive, deceitful man. He has a shop in the market and his son has just passed medical from the city. He is the main villain in the cartoon series.
• Rita: A sister studying in the upper class of School, where Meena studies in. She was later married to the shopkeeper's son.
• Dipu: Meena's naughty friend. Mithu helps Dipu to become aware at different times.
• Teacher of the school: She helps Meena with various problems with time and wise advice.

There has also been the arrival of different characters in different series at different times.

• Aunt: Meena-Raju's father's elder sister. Bad-tempered, cruel woman.

Meena
Meena character
Meena cartoon official logo
First appearance	"Count Your Chickens" (1993)
Created by	UNICEF, Hanna-Barbera[2]
Designed by	Neill McKee Ram Mohan
Voiced by	Promita Ganguly (Bengali)[11] Rajashree Nath (Hindi)
In-universe information
Alias	Mina
Gender	Female
Occupation	Schoolgirl
Family	Father, Mother, Raju (brother), Mithu (pet parrot)

Meena is a fictional character who stars in the television show of the same name.^[12][13] The show is broadcast in the English, Bengali, Hindi, Nepali, and Urdu, Odia and Dari languages.^[14] Meena educates the children of South Asia on issues of gender, health, and social inequality through her stories in comic books, animated films, and radio series (affiliated with the BBC).^[13][1][15]

Secondary characters of her stories include her brother Raju and her pet parrot Mithu.^[1] Her adventures include attempting to gain an education, sharing meals with Raju on an equal level, learning about HIV, how to give birth to a baby properly, and volunteering. Her stories are all advocates of changing societal and cultural norms.^[1]

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. The character of Meena was created by a team of people in UNICEF that was led by Neill McKee, head of the Communication Section in the early 1990s.^[1] He chose Rachel Carnegie as the main facilitator and brought in Ram Mohan, a famous Indian cartoonist, Dr. Mira Aghi of India as chief researcher, and Nuzhat Shahzadi as script co-writer and implementation coordinator for Bangladesh.^[12][2] She later became the Regional Coordinator based in Kathmandu, Nepal, following the tenure of Christian Clark, a Canadian. Five early episodes were created with assistance from the studios of FIL Cartoons, Manila, owned by Hanna Barbera Cartoons, California. Thereafter, Ram Mohan and his team did the work in their studio in Mumbai, India, using computer animation starting in the mid-1990s. From the beginning, the Meena team consulted with UNICEF staff, NGOs, and government people and carried out hundreds of focus groups and individual interviews throughout the region to arrive at the characters, names, backgrounds, and stories.^[2][14][1] The first Meena episode was launched in 1993 on Bangladesh Television in Dhaka.^[14][1]

UNICEF Bangladesh launched the UNICEF Meena Media Award in 2005 to create awareness among journalists for better reporting on children in the media. In 2012, UNICEF launched a live radio show featuring Meena, Mithu and Raju as presenters. In 2016, on the 70th anniversary of UNICEF, it launched the 'Meena Game'.^[16]

• UNICEF Meena Media Award, given for promoting children's rights in Bangladesh

• Clark, Christian (1 October 1997). "Meena Comes to a Store Near You". Animation World Network.
• A Brief History of Meena in Bangladesh and the South Asian Region By Neill McKee, Nuzhat Shahzadi, and Mira Mitra: https://www.neillmckeevideos.com/_files/ugd/6d1438_b7cf5ac75fdc445ba997d3f2c97408e4.pdf

• Meena at IMDb 
• "Meena and UNICEF". UNICEF Bangladesh.
• "Meena cartoon". UNICEF Nepal.
• Download free Meena comic books from the UNICEF website
• "Why we need Meena again". The Daily Star. 30 August 2018.
• Meena Communication Initiative (Neil McKee Videos)