Sesame Street Comes To Pakistan

Sesame Street continues to be a universal learning tool for children as it will now be broadcast in Pakistan to help boost education.

The U.S. is donating $20 million to fund a local version of the show, which will have the traditional New York City setting swapped for a Pakistani village.

Don’t expect to see Big Bird or Cookie Monster though, as the show will feature new characters including Rani, a six-year-old female puppet with pigtails and a blue-and-white school uniform and will speak in Urdu.

Writer for the Pakistani version, Imraan Peerzada says:

“She will represent what little girls have to go through in this gender-biased society.

We are not avoiding religion├óΓé¼┼í but we don’t want to label children…the basic learning tools of literacy├óΓé¼┼í numeracy├óΓé¼┼í hygiene├óΓé¼┼í and healthy eating have to be in place first.”

Good work, Sesame Street. What a fantastic idea.