Pink ladoos handed out at 2 hospitals to promote gender equality
By Muriel Draaisma, CBC News Posted: Oct 11, 2016 10:32 AM ET Last
Updated: Oct 11, 2016 3:43 PM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pink-ladoo-project-hospitals-1.3799621
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Pink ladoos handed out at 2 hospitals to promote gender equality
Sweet treat made of flour, sugar to celebrate birth of baby girls
Harbir Singh, Canadian campaign director for the Pink Ladoo Project,
says volunteers are handing out pink ladoos at two hospitals in the
Toronto area on Tuesday to promote gender equality. The sweet treats
will celebrate the birth of girl children, she said.
Harbir Singh, Canadian campaign director for the Pink Ladoo Project,
says volunteers are handing out pink ladoos at two hospitals in the
Toronto area on Tuesday to promote gender equality. The sweet treats
will celebrate the birth of girl children, she said. (CBC)
A group of women distributed a South Asian sweet treat at two Toronto
area hospitals on Tuesday — in the hopes of birthing a new tradition to
celebrate baby girls.
The group handed out ladoos, a sweet made of flour and sugar and rolled
into balls, which are typically given to mark the birth of a baby boy.
On Tuesday, the ladoos, given out at Brampton Civic Hospital and
Etobicoke General Hospital, were coloured pink in part to mark the UN's
International Day of the Girl Child.
Related story: Indo-Canadian couples choosing sons over daughters: study
It was all part of the Pink Ladoo Project, an international movement
designed to eradicate gender-biased South Asian practices, customs and
traditions.
Harbir Singh, the Canadian director of the Pink Ladoo Project, told
CBC's Metro Morning that members of the South Asian community distribute
ladoos during periods of celebration.
"Families travel door to door and go to their families and friends
throughout the community and distribute this sweet as a celebration,"
Singh said Tuesday. "Traditionally, it's only been for boy children.
What we have done is coloured this ladoo pink to represent gender
equality for the girl child." No sweets handed out when girls born
Singh, a mother of two daughters, aged two and six, said the tradition
was followed in her family and it was part of what she calls "male
preference culture." When she was growing up, Singh said celebrations
were held for her older and younger brothers, but not for her — and
these traditions made her question her value in the family.
"Traditionally, growing up in a South Asian family, I never saw anyone
come to our door and celebrate the birth of a girl child, or hand out
any sweets, or book large parties with their families and their friends
to celebrate. That was an issue that impacted me as a child," she said.
"Therefore, I have become involved in this as an adult. I want to raise
awareness and I want to address this issue of male preference culture so
my two daughters never have to have this conversation."
Another tradition that affected Singh as a child is that she was told
from a young age that she was born into one family but would belong to
the family of her husband when she married.
"You are sent a message very early that your true home will be your
husband's home," she said. "That affected me as a child. I felt that I
was a part of my family. I felt a lot of difficulty with connecting with
this part of the culture, so I want to change that."
Campaign manager Baljot Grewal has witnessed gender inequality firsthand
while studying dentistry in India the last five years. "I've become more
aware of the value that's being given to women by men and society in
these cultures," she said. "Men are seen as the breadwinner and the
carrier of the family name. Historically, they have been deemed more
important than women and it's time to change that."
Pink ladoos to promote change
Grewal hopes the campaign sparks a needed conversation. "I want people
to start asking why we're not celebrating girls the same as boys and why
a dedicated day is needed to raise awareness," she said. "We've been
doing a lot of explaining to families today who don't know about the
imbalance. Education is key."
Singh said distributing pink ladoos at local hospitals is a small way to
promote larger change within South Asian families by creating a positive
tradition that celebrates girl children.
The event is a way to counter traditions, cultures and rituals
associated with male preference culture, she said.
"We are starting with this one small step, but hoping we will inspire a
much larger conversation," she said.
She said the group believes that if a family celebrates the birth of a
girl child, and there is awareness of gender equality at birth, then
that family is more likely to have other conversations about sexist
traditions as the girl grows up.
She said her older daughter, for example, now thinks pink ladoos are
handed out when girl children are born. She acknowledged that it's how
change happens.
Pink ladoos are also being handed out at hospitals in Ottawa, Regina and
Edmonton.
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