“On the Wings of Wishes” (Icchedana), Adolescent Girls in Bangladesh Taking Flight Using A Social Behavioral Change Communication Program to Address Child Marriage Related Social Norms: A Longitudinal Panel Study.
Outcomes: Child, Early, and Forced Marriage
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-aways This study shows that social norms change is possible through targeted communication efforts but remains uneven across groups. While personal beliefs (injunctive norms) can shift—particularly among fathers—community-level perceptions (descriptive norms) often persist. Interventions must explicitly target reference groups and address the perceived social consequences of norm-breaking to create an enabling environment for sustained behavior change.
Objectives The study aimed to assess whether a social and behavior change communication (SBCC) intervention could reduce child marriage in Bangladesh by shifting harmful gender and social norms and increasing adolescent agency.
Methods A longitudinal panel study was conducted from 2017 to 2019 in three districts with high rates of child marriage. The study used household surveys with embedded social norms modules at baseline, midline, and endline to assess both injunctive norms (beliefs about what should be done) and descriptive norms (beliefs about what others do), along with qualitative interviews and focus groups.
Intervention Details At the heart of the intervention was Icchedana (“On the Wings of Wishes”), a national entertainment-education drama series following a rural girls’ football team confronting challenges like child marriage, school dropout, and harassment. Created through participatory design with youth and community stakeholders, the series aired across TV, radio, and social media and was complemented by SMS reminders, community screenings, and docu-dramas. The program was part of a multi-platform strategy grounded in social norms theory and designed to engage adolescents and key influencers.
Results The intervention contributed to improvements in injunctive norms, particularly among fathers, who increasingly disapproved of child marriage. However, similar shifts were not observed among mothers or adolescent girls. Descriptive norms remained largely unchanged, with many participants continuing to believe that child marriage was commonly practiced in their communities. Importantly, the perceived likelihood of social sanctions for rejecting child marriage declined, suggesting a reduced fear of backlash and a potentially more supportive environment for behavior change.
Conclusions The intervention showed promise in influencing personal beliefs and weakening the anticipated social penalties for resisting child marriage. However, durable change requires sustained efforts that move beyond individual transformation to shift shared community norms. Embedding social norms theory into both the design and evaluation of SBCC initiatives is critical for addressing the relational and collective dimensions of harmful practices like child marriage.
Norms Addressed
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