Saas-Bahu Serials - Quietly Driving Women Empowerment?

We’ve all done it.

Laughed at the dramatic zoom-ins, exaggerated expressions and endless monologues in Hindi soap operas. We’ve rolled our eyes at the overdressed saas and the ever-sacrificing bahu. We’ve joked about the omnipresent background music that seems to have a life of its own. And of course, we’ve questioned how our mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and countless other women watch these “saas-bahu serials” with unwavering dedication, day after day.

But what if the thing we’ve been making fun of is actually playing a quiet yet powerful role in women empowerment?

A 2007 research study titled The Power of TV: Cable Television and Women’s Status in India by economists Robert Jensen and Emily Oster offers a fascinating and counterintuitive perspective. The study examined the impact of cable TV in rural India and found something remarkable: access to satellite television—yes, the very one showing those soap operas—led to tangible improvements in the status of women, i.e. women empowerment.

Soap Operas as Social Change Agents?

The study is based on a three-year panel survey of women in 180 villages across five Indian states. Some

villages had cable access introduced during the survey period, while others didn’t. This allowed the researchers to measure the “before and after” impact of TV exposure. What they found was nothing short of remarkable:

Here’s what they found:

• Increased Female Autonomy: Women in cable-access villages reported higher levels of autonomy—such as going out without permission or participating in household decisions.

• Lower Acceptance of Domestic Violence: There was a measurable drop in the number of women who believed it was acceptable for a husband to beat his wife under any circumstances.

• Reduced Son Preference: Fewer women expressed a desire for their next child to be male—a significant shift in a country grappling with skewed sex ratios.

• Increased School Enrollment for Girls: Girls in cable-access villages were more likely to be enrolled in school, particularly at younger ages.

• Lower Fertility Rates: Women had fewer children, mainly due to longer gaps between births—indicating more control over reproduction.

In short, watching TV brought rural attitudes closer to urban ones—rapidly. The changes were so significant that they were equivalent, in some cases, to the impact of five years of formal education.

But How Does This Happen?

The mechanism, the authors argue, lies in exposure. The most popular Indian soaps, despite their melodrama, typically depict urban lifestyles. Women on these shows often work, make decisions, run businesses, and challenge authority figures. Even if dramatized, these characters present alternatives to the traditional roles assigned to women in rural societies.

These serials might be over-the-top. They might feature ridiculous plot twists. But they show women existing outside the narrow box of tradition, and that can spark something.

Moreover, TV provides a communal experience. In many homes, especially in rural India, families gather around a single set. The saas watches. The bahu watches. The children watch. Everyone is exposed to new narratives—sometimes aspirational, sometimes progressive—and that shared experience can subtly but steadily shift societal expectations.

The Bigger Picture: Entertainment driving Women Empowerment

The implications of this are profound. In a country where changing deep-seated gender norms is a complex, slow process, television emerges as a low-cost, scalable agent of change.

Yes, the soap operas may seem ridiculous to us. But dismissing them as useless overlooks their role in giving millions of women a glimpse into a different kind of life—one with more choices, more agency, and more dignity.

So the next time you pass by the living room and hear the dramatic music of yet another Kyunki... or Anupamaa, maybe don’t roll your eyes. Sit down. Watch an episode. And remember: what may look like mindless entertainment could, in fact, be quietly revolutionary.