STAR India Launches 'Chal Kar Pehel' Campaign for Gender Equality

Apr 10, 2015 12:00 PM ET

21CF Social Impact

STAR Plus, the flagship channel of the STAR India television network owned by 21st Century Fox, recently launched Chal Kar Pehel, a national campaign raising awareness for women's rights issues and advocating for gender equality. In addition to on-air promotions and social media engagement, STAR Plus organized walkathon events in the three cities of Bhopal, Lucknow, and Chandigarh, encouraging people across the country to "take the first step" toward equal rights for women.

For each walkathon, STAR coordinated with schools, colleges, and local women's groups, as well as local radio stations, television channels, and print media, to encourage as many people as possible to participate. On the national level, STAR Plus aired videos featuring messages from talent speaking out for gender equality, and the channel used social media to start conversations, encouraging people to share their stories about the women who have made a difference in their lives.

At each of the walkathons, the cast members of Everest, one of the most popular serials on STAR Plus, addressed the crowd. Everest tells the story of Anjali Singh Rawat (Shamata Anchan), who is the only woman in a team of mountain climbers attempting to scale Mount Everest. The show addresses gender discrimination head on, and follows Anjali as she finds ways to overcome it. This story, according to Anchan, made the show a natural fit for the campaign.

"If Anjali, someone who has faced the wrath of being discriminated against in her own home for being a girl, can spread her wings and summit the highest peak in the world, then any woman can look for the strength within and achieve her own personal Everest," Anchan said. "I want every woman to take that first step towards their Everest."

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