AMMAN — A new television show hopes to broach a taboo in
Jordanian culture: sexual and reproductive health. The show, produced in
collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (
UNFPA),
Amman TV, and
360 Moms, is called Fe Al-Mamar — Arabic for “In the school hallway” – and
targets youth and adolescents. The name is a metaphor for the psychological
space youth need to progress from one point of their development to another.
اضافة اعلان
“This show is needed
for every girl and boy living in Jordan,” said Enshrah Ahmed, the head of
UNFPA’s office in
Jordan. “The access to evidence-based and age-appropriate
information empowers youth to exercise their rights, and contribute to their
communities.”
Many young Jordanians have insufficient knowledge about
sexual and reproductive health, compounded by limited access to adequate
services, according to a UNFPA statement sent to Jordan News. The show
aims to shed light on issues that might feel dark, confusing, or even scary for
adolescents during puberty. Additionally, the program hopes to improve the
quality of youths’ lives by helping them gain knowledge about sexual and
reproductive health and rights, and enabling them to make appropriate decisions
through 12 youth-friendly episodes.
The show’s host, Laith Abbadi, is both a psychologist in
child and adolescent mental health and a stand-up comedian.
“There is a lot of missing information and issues (about
sexual and reproductive health) that are not addressed in the media,” Abbadi
said in the statement.
“Working on Fe Al-Mamar with UNFPA has been an eye-opening
experience for us at the station,” said Qais Elias, station manager at Amman
TV. “This is a type of content that commercial entities rarely venture into
because of the perceived red lines, especially when it comes to addressing some
of the topics we’ve presented. However, since the content went on air and
social media, the feedback has been surprisingly positive. This demonstrates a
dire need for such open-minded, entertaining, and educational content. We hope
to work on more such projects in the future.”
In order to develop the series, 360 Moms, an online
parenting platform that provides resources for mothers throughout the Arab
world, conducted desk reviews on the chosen topics in collaboration with
psychologists, internet security specialists, parenting consultants,
gynecologists, and pediatricians.
Additionally, UNFPA created a review committee that was made
up of members from the Ministries of Youth and Awqaf, the Higher Population
Council, the Royal Health Awareness Society, the Institute for Family Health,
Hamzet Wasel, and Y-PEER, as well as a number of youth activists.
“Working on project management and research for the UNFPA’s
TV youth segments was a great experience,” Dina Abdul Majeed, founder and CEO
of 360 Moms said in the statement. “Having this wonderful synergy of experts,
advisers, TV producers, and of course the comedian who is the medical host
brought out a unique blend that I believe was the secret ingredient to the
success of these episodes.”
The show was broadcast on Amman TV twice a week, and the
episodes were also posted on the social media accounts of Amman TV, 360 Moms,
Laith Abbadi, and UNFPA Jordan. The
series received more than 2 million views in just the few weeks, the statement.
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