In 1990 UNICEF launched a multimedia campaign in Asia to promote girls' potential for achievement when they receive equal education and support. Meena, the young heroine of an animated cartoon series, confronts problems that many girls face: son preference, early marriage, lack of educational opportunity, and poverty. The Meena series has been broadcast in 14 languages on both television and radio, reaching about 57 million people. Recently, UNICEF began 13 new episodes in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

The series is changing people's attitudes. As one father of four daughters said after watching Meena, "I will make sure my daughters get more opportunities than my wife or mother ever received" (146, 258). Building on the success of the Meena campaign in Asia, a similar character, named Sara, has been developed for Africa. Researchers drew on discussions with over 5,000 people from Eritrea to South Africa to create a realistic girl that Africans will relate to and learn from (163).

Important lessons about gender awareness have also been learned from unintended consequences of programs designed to increase men's participation. For example, during the 1970s and early 1980s, Profamilia in Colombia used the Latino machisto image to promote vasectomies. As Executive Director Maria Isabel Plata explains, that was a mistake because it reinforced negative stereotypes, such as sexual promiscuity and male dominance in decision-making. The number of vasectomies remained low. In 1985 Profamilia adopted a new strategy that emphasized male responsibility. "For the first time, men were being told that they could also participate. By (our) being gender sensitive, the number of vasectomies doubled and tripled," says Plata (192).

As another example, in Zimbabwe a multimedia campaign in 1993-94 to promote men's use of family planning relied on prominent sports players to tell men about the importance of practicing family planning (122). The campaign succeeded in reaching men and encouraging their participation. As an unintended consequence, however, some men exposed to the campaign were more likely to believe that they alone should make family planning decisions.

One possible explanation is that the campaign unintentionally reinforced stereotypes about male-dominated decision- making (122, 133). Another explanation is that men interpreted the campaign's primary message "Family Planning: It's Your Choice" to mean they should make such decisions by themselves. Subsequent men's participation campaigns in Africa, such as the Challenge CUP Initiative (see Lesson 6), have pretested messages to ensure that the audience correctly understands the intended reproductive health behavior.

Practical needs, strategic interests. In approaching gender issues, programs often face a difficult decision—how much to accept a society's gender roles and work within their confines to make health gains in the short term, and how much to devote attention to the long-term task of changing gender roles to promote gender equity. These different goals have been described as "practical needs" and "strategic interests" (53). For example, increasing condom use for HIV prevention through social marketing is a practical need. Changing social norms so that men and women feel comfortable discussing sexual relations is a strategic interest.

In Jamaica a new condom called Slam, designed to appeal to young men, is prompting a debate about practical needs versus strategic interests (285). The condom is named after the title of a popular song about a sexy dance hall queen, but it also implies violent sex. No Glove, No Love Ltd., the company marketing the condom, argues that condom promotion needs to be realistic in order to appeal to the male audience. By promoting a condom that will enhance sex and make it safer, the company contends, it can help to reduce STD rates, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and save lives.

While supporting these health goals, critics of the campaign worry that the campaign demeans women and encourages men to treat them badly. They argue that the name of the condom sends out a dangerously mixed message that condones or encourages sexual violence against women.

Long-term social change can seem threatening to men who see power distribution as a zero sum game, in which women can gain only if men lose (262). Practical needs and strategic interests need not conflict, however. In fact, addressing the practical needs of women can be an "entry point" to working for longer-term gender equity or fairer power distribution (53). Therefore programs need to address strategic interests with an eye to minimizing opposition and gaining support from male leaders.