Deepening the impact of the initiative and reaching out to the diaspora, dedicated web pages were developed in both Urdu (hosted on the BBC Urdu Service site) and in English (hosted on the BBC World Service Trust site) to accompany the drama and debates.
BBC Urdu.com recorded 100,000 page impressions on the Piyar Ka Passport micro site in March, making these pages the most popular of the whole site that month. The BBC Asian Network also provided streamed audio of the drama and a link back to these sites.
The sites provided:
- A family tree and background information on all the characters and cast in the drama
- Both written and audio testimonials on forced marriage and related themes in Pakistan
- A brief synopsis of each episode of the drama, which appeared in sequence as the programmes were broadcast and were then archived
- All 12 episodes of the drama, streamed in audio
- Articles related to issues, including an article on the British High Commission's rescue work of young people facing forced marriage by Guardian writer Declan Walsh and another by Rafaqat Ali
- An article on the making of the drama
- Links to additional BBC programmes about forced marriage
- Links to relevant organisations, including NGOs in both Pakistan and Britain and international organisations
The subject of the drama was linked to a 'Have your say' area to encourage the online audience to express and share their views in a pre-moderated discussion.
This operated on the site for the latter period of the broadcasts and during and after the debate went live on the site.
People were asked to comment on what they thought of the story, characterisation, acting and the production itself; whether they found the theme and issues relevant to the context in Pakistan, and if drama was successful in raising awareness of the issues in Pakistani society.
