A nine-year-old girl in Guwahati has prompted Dabur to rethink its copywriting strategies after she refused to drink its Real fruit juice because the packaging told her it was only meant for boys, according to a Hindustan Times report. The message on the carton said “Something that is good for your child should also make him smile”. The girl’s father, Mriganka Majumder, said she told him she would not drink the juice as it was for a “him” and not a “her”.

Majumder said he wrote to Dabur about its gendered use of pronouns, but the company did not reply. He then wrote to Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, who took up the matter with Dabur, the report in the English daily states.

The company on Wednesday told HT that it will make the necessary changes, but defended its choice of words, saying “him” is used to suggest all children in a general sense. Dabur clarified that the juice packet carried a picture of a family of four, including a girl child, and that the company believed in “gender neutral communication”.

Gandhi said she has directed the company to ensure that messages on its products are “gender neutral”, HT added. “Why should products such as fruit juice or health drink be male-centric?” she asked. The minister said this also amounts to discrimination against the girl child and women.