Cultural Attitudes And Gender Inequality In Ethiopia The Case Of Yeken Kiginit Serial Drama

This research study examines how women and gender roles are portrayed in the popularrnserial drama Yeken Kiginit by looking at how the manifested cultural attitudes of men inrnthe drama highlight the existing social gender inequality in contemporary Ethiopia. Thernstudy also suggests the implications gender portrayal in popular media might have inrnaddressing gender disparities and discrimination. In order to have a clear understandingrnof this issue, the researcher focused on how the characters in the drama were developedrnin terms of their personalities and beliefs, as they probably are the major transmitters ofrnthe intended message to the audience through their dialogue.rnQualitative research method is employed to analyze some of the main messages of thernserial drama. Ten episodes were selected for in-depth analysis in order to ensure diversityrnin content and message. The qualitative content analysis was combined with qualitativerninterviews in order to get more knowledge about the production processes and thernintended messages of the serial drama. Two journalists transcribed the interviews whichrnwere conducted by the researcher with the Country Representative of PMC, the AmharicrnSerial Drama Coordinator, and the serial script writer.rnThe results of the study reveal that women may be victims of male chauvinists due torncultural prejudices created by the society. Yeken Kiginit radio serial drama has depictedrnthe real problems of women in Ethiopia by exposing how they are disadvantaged in manyrnaspects of life; especially in access to and control of resources, in participation inrndecision making at all levels including at the household level. The serial focuses onrnunequal gender relations and how this is problematic in relation to women’s role in therndevelopment of the nation. The analysis reveals the potential radio entertainmentrnpossesses in terms of education with the possibility of bringing social change: Educationrndoes not have to be boring – and entertainment can be educational. It concludes thatrnYeken Kiginit largely succeeded in exposing the real problems of women in Ethiopia byrnillustrating with familiar examples how many women are disadvantaged in many aspectsrnof life.

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