"“With an antenna we can stop the practice of female genital cutting"”: a participatory assessment of Ashreat Al Amal, an entertainment-education radio soap opera in sudan

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"This article presents the results of a participatory evaluation of AshreatAl Amal (“Sails of Hope”), an entertainment-education radio soap operain Sudan. Using participatory sketching and photography exercises, weinvestigated how avid listeners of the radio soap opera engaged with itseducational content. Our respondents’ sketches and photos suggest thatthey comprehended several intersecting plotlines and educational messagesof Ashreat Al Amal, that is, a more empowered status for women, safereproductive health practices and the dangers of the traditional practice offemale genital cutting (a practice that is widespread in Sudan). Both maleand female respondents emphasized that storylines related to female genitalcutting held the most personal meaning for them as it closely paralleledtheir lived realities. Furthermore, our research demonstrated the power ofparticipatory assessment methodologies, especially to generate unanticipateddialogue on “taboo” topics such as female genital cutting."