Living in a country that breathes patriarchy, it was fulfilling to break a gender stereotype through #NotARoundRoti, a campaign devised for International Women’s Day. This was done in 2019, and the patriarchal setup of India still expects women to roll perfectly round rotis (an Indian bread that’s round in shape) to prove their worth and be called a ‘woman’. It’s not just about the perfect rotis, it is about the expectation that perpetuates the bias - women’s place is in the kitchen, and that the marker of her success lies in excelling in household chores, not in her career and her life. #NotARoundRoti became a rallying cry for women to challenge the norm and find comfort in a community that believes in defying gender roles. With a microsite where women across ages could roll rotis of any shape, it was empowering to look at the museum of Not So Round Rotis with more than a thousand entries by women from varied demographics.
It sparked a positive discourse on Indian twitter with women proudly showcasing their amorphous rotis and highlighting how that's not the marker of their worth and shouldn't be.

Swiggy being India's top food delivery service was the perfect partner to obliterate this societal bias and stand as an advocate for the many ambitions of women in India.

Not A Round Roti won a Special Abby in the Gender Sensitive category and a Bronze Abby in the Brand Microsite (Digital and Mobile) category at Goafest 2019.

This project is:
Client-commissioned

Agency
Dentsu Webchutney

Client URL
https://www.swiggy.com/app

My Role in This Project
This campaign stemmed from a truly personal insight of experiencing gender bias at home. In the early years of my career, my aunt reprimanded me for not knowing how to roll rotis, despite being acutely aware of the strides I’m making in my career and the hard work I’m putting in to build myself and my career. And I knew I wasn't the only one going through this experience. Most women in India are expected to be homemakers, learn to do home chores perfectly, and serve their husband and their in-laws. The opportunity to build a career they are proud of is a privilege.
That’s how #NotARoundRoti came into being, a tribute to all the women who chose to defy the norm of - a woman’s place is in the kitchen, with rotis that were amorphous and proud.