Harnaaz Kaur Grewal: Empowering South Asian women, one cup of chaa at a time

The practice of sharing tea cuts across cultural and temporal lines. As a platform for social connection, chaa (Punjabi for ‘tea’) brings people together to soothe difficult conversations, celebrate milestones and share good news. This ubiquitous drink is the inspiration behind Chaa da Cup, a research project by Harnaaz (Naaz) Kaur Grewal-Greeno, MSW, B.Sc.

At its core, Chaa da Cup is a platform to cradle the stories of South Asian women. Naaz recounts taking trips to visit her family in Tsawwassen, where she and her mother, Rupinder Kaur Grewal, would rise earlier than the rest of the family. They would drink chaa and exchange heartfelt conversations.

“It was during those conversations where she opened up to me,” Naaz says. Her mother would divulge her experiences of racial discrimination, from high school continuing into the present years, as a woman of colour and business owner. Naaz wondered how many other South Asian women had similar experiences, but she wasn’t sure how to start the conversation, since topics like racism and mental health are taboo in many cultural groups. 

So, when she was given the opportunity to design a creative project in one of her classes, Naaz thought back to those conversations over tea. She figured this was a chance to create a space for other South Asian women living in Canada. She gathered a total of 11 women, between the ages of 18 to 85, and hosted interviews with each of them—of course, with a cup of chaa in hand. 

Naaz chose to gather multiple generations of South Asian families in her network and interviewed mothers, grandmothers, daughters, cousins, and aunts together. She interviewed one family, with a 26-year-old daughter, a mom in her 50s, and a grandma in her early 80s. Naaz says with three generations present, the women painted “a landscape of Canada throughout the years.” 

Hosting these intergenerational conversations over tea was edifying. Chaa da Cup encouraged families to overcome “inherited silence,” which she saw as an overarching theme throughout the project. 

This pattern of silence is something Naaz has witnessed in her clinical social work practice. South Asian women are “often rendered invisible by our own community, and then again amongst the larger dominant society,” she says. “When they’re constantly silenced, they no longer want to speak.”

This pattern is then reflected in individual families: “Just be silent. Get your work done, don’t disrupt the peace,” Naaz says, describing the mindset of some South Asian parents.

Chaa da Cup encouraged families to start breaking this pattern. Naaz felt that strengthening mother-daughter relationships was one of the most rewarding outcomes of the project. During their interviews, some mothers expressed a desire to go back in time, so they could raise their daughters differently. In response, “the daughters would look over and be like, ‘are you crazy? I am here because of you!’” Naaz says.

As a researcher and clinical counsellor, Naaz is empathetic and reflexive. Her own story of being a Punjabi Sikh woman and a first-generation Canadian is at the heart of all she does. She is currently practicing as a clinical counsellor at This Space Belongs to You, which provides “free counselling for IBPOC and queer youth by IBPOC and queer counsellors.” Outside of this role, she is the Local Immigration Partnership Council Coordinator for the Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan. Her practice is rooted in the principle of Sevā, an essential concept in Sikhism. “Sevā is compassionate and selfless care and service beyond oneself,” Naaz says.

Naaz also counts surviving breast cancer as one of her life’s turning points. Just a few years ago, she was a pre-med student, hoping to become a doctor. Then, at just 25 years old and amid a global pandemic—she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Triple Negative Aggressive Breast Cancer. Naaz was inspired by her oncology social worker, who introduced her to the social work field and a career that she describes as a “more holistic approach” to health. 

This revelation led to a major pivot. While she was undergoing chemotherapy treatments, Naaz conjured up the energy to apply to school for social work. She succeeded, and now on the other side of her cancer journey, Naaz is attuned to the value of resilience and the importance of what she calls “communities of care,” something she highlights in Chaa da Cup.

Tea is a communal practice, so it makes sense that community is a denominator of many of the stories shared in Chaa da Cup. In fact, Naaz found that a key predictive factor for South Asians’ positive experiences in the diaspora was their geographic location, and by extension, the diversity of the communities they settled in. Participants from cities with significant South Asian populations, like Richmond and Surrey, reported fewer experiences of racism than those living in smaller, less diverse towns. These dramatic shifts between inclusion and exclusion were mirrored in observations across generational lines, too. Harmful gender norms, educational barriers, and the vulnerability of being brown in majority-white towns were hurdles faced by multiple generations of South Asian women. 

“Despite everything that the older generation has gone through, they've passed down that strength and resilience to the younger generations, that are now able to better speak up,” Naaz says. 

Naaz feels pushing back against tradition is sometimes necessary; like rejecting gender norms still prevalent in the community, even if it ruffles feathers. Though most cultural practices are a site of joy and connection, some have room for improvement. As an example, she points to the practice of handing out sweets when a boy is born, but not for girls. “There's so much value and emphasis put on a boy versus a girl,” she said. By simply handing out the sweets when girls are born too, parents can normalize giving equal opportunities to their sons and daughters. For South Asian men, who are also harmed by patriarchal values, Naaz thinks there is a process of ‘unlearning’ to work through. 

Furthermore, she hopes anyone with privilege will educate themselves on racism and sexism, ask questions when needed, and advocate for South Asian women. “Be proactive instead of reactive,” she says. “A brown woman doesn't have to be in your workplace in order for you to stand up for brown women.” 

Looking forward, Naaz hopes to expand the conversations she started with Chaa da Cup by utilizing knowledge mobilization tools like social media. In ancient Indian culture, storytelling was a primarily oral tradition, but it was largely undermined by British colonization and the quantitative focus of Western academia.

 “What Chaa da Cup is really trying to do is dethrone that narrative; situate the stories from the colonizer back to the colonized and give the voice back to them,” Naaz says. So, one story at a time, Naaz chips away at this legacy— with a cup of chaa in hand. 

Naaz encourages anyone who is interested in getting involved in the Chaa da Cup project, or the possibility of future workshops, to contact her by email (harnaaz@chaadacup.ca) or to follow the project on Instagram (@thechaadacupproject). 

Emmerson Jull is a student writer for CIRCLE. She is in the fourth year of her undergraduate degree in International Development Studies at the University of Guelph.

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