We are eradicating gender-biased South Asian customs and traditions and elevating the status of South Asian women by encouraging families to celebrate girls' births. The Pink Ladoo Project was founded by Raj Khaira in 2015 and is an organisation on a mission to eradicate gender-based South Asian practices, customs and traditions. Since October 2015, the Pink Ladoo Project , has hosted events in 9
cities across the UK, Canada and Australia and has been covered by several notable publications including, The Guardian, The Metro, Stylist Magazine, Vice Magazine, and the Toronto Star. We have also appeared on several news channels including Global TV Canada's morning breakfast talk show. The Pink Ladoo Project was established to change one tradition in particular: the custom of families only celebrating the birth of a baby by distributing “ladoo” (traditional Indian sweets) within the community if that child is a boy. We introduced the pink ladoo, to be given to members of the community to announce girls' births, as a way of finally starting a custom to celebrate females in South Asian culture. South Asian families are being encouraged and inspired to distribute Pink Ladoo to their family and friends to celebrate a girl's birth. Pink, for South Asians, is associated with prosperity and wealth as well as now being associated with women due to Western influences. In this capacity, the Pink Ladoo serves as a conversational tool, opening dialogue on the problems emanating from male preference culture and encouraging the South Asian community to engage in the subject of gender-equality at the earliest point in their children’s lives. We are a non-profit pro bono initiative and do not receive any proceeds from the sale of any Pink Ladoo.
