Priya's Mask

The character of Priya, clad in a traditional outfit worn by Indian women, the salwar kameez, was created in 2014 by Indian-American Ram Devineni to communicate an empowering female message. In the case of Priya's Mask, she intends to instill the power of courage and compassion during this difficult time through the following:

• A 15-page comic, which is meant to appeal to young people, that be downloaded for free anywhere in the world. Click here for all download options, or access the PDF directly here. when it is safer, the United States (US) Embassy in New Delhi plans to distribute free copies of the book to Indian schoolchildren.
• A 2-minute animated film, viewable below, featuring the voices of Bollywood and Hollywood stars; it also functions as a public service announcement (PSA) highlighting the courage of women healthcare workers and educating people about the virus.
• A curriculum for use in educational settings, including students' materials, a teacher's guide, and a quiz.
• A social media presence; for example, on @powerofpriya Instagram, you can use Priya's Mask augmented reality camera effects to make videos or photos with an animated, colourful mask and funky green eyes.

In Priya's Mask, Priya befriends a young girl, Meena, inviting her to join Priya and her tiger friend Sahas (Hindi for "courage") on a ride high above the city, quiet due to a pandemic lockdown. Along the way to the hospital, where Meena's mother is a frontline health worker, they see a friend who misses her grandmother's hugs and Meena's favourite ice-cream parlor, now deserted. They also hear all the pandemic disinformation bubbling around the city. Arriving at the window of the hospital, Meena recognises the importance of her mother's work as a nurse and comes to understand how her mother has been sacrificing her time with her daughter for the greater good of society. Meena then organises her neighbours to come to their windows to applaud Meena's mother as she returns from a long shift at the hospital.

Then Priya hops across the border to Pakistan, where she teams up with the popular female superhero Jiya from Pakistan's comic series Burka Avenger. Together, they tackle Priya's arch enemy: the mustachioed Baba Kaboom, who plans to take over the town of Chutneyville by not wearing a mask and spreading the virus. But, in the process, he himself catches COVID-19 and needs help from Priya and Jiya. The message is that we all need to work together to conquer the virus.

Upon reading Priya's Mask, Mallika Dutt, an Indian-American social justice advocate and the founder of Breakthrough, commented: "Popular culture is a powerful way to influence social change. It gets people to listen and react in a way that doesn't feel didactic and lecturing."

COVID-19, Girls, Misinformation.

A strict nationwide lockdown that was imposed on March 21 2020 delayed the spread of COVID-19 for a while, but infections grew rapidly - and continue to do so - since restrictions were relaxed. In addition to some people's refusal to follow orders to wear masks in public places or maintain social distancing, a major challenge in India's fight against COVID-19 has been the rapid spread of false and misleading information around the pandemic, such as supposed cures, lockdown rumours, and conspiracy theories on COVID-19's origins. Stigma has also been an issue: In some places, frontline workers were barred from their own homes by neighbours fearful of catching the virus.

The Priya's Mask comic book and film premiered in London, United Kingdom (UK) at the Global Health Film Festival in December 2020.