Priyanka addresses criminalisation of youth

Calls for educating and rehabilitating boys as juvenile convict in Delhi rape case is freed amid protests

NEW DELHI:

Education is an important aspect of avoiding the creation of future criminals, said National Award-winning actor Priyanka Chopra, while commenting on the release of the juvenile involved in the 2012 Delhi gang rape.

“That is an extremely heinous crime. As a woman, I’m not just appalled and shocked but I am amazed that children can be capable of something that heinous. Secondly, I believe that investing time in adolescents is very important during their rehabilitation, and educating boys that they should not indignify a woman.”

Priyanka recently attended a United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) event when she was asked to comment on the Juvenile Justice Bill, which calls for the trial of those aged between 16 and 18 years as adults for heinous offences.





She said the gravity of the crime still sends shockwaves in her mind, and that commenting on the case is a ‘tricky’ slope to walk on. “It is a tricky situation when it comes to this case, but I do believe that when dealing with crimes such as this, the focus should be on education and rehabilitation of the children so that we don’t create future criminals. And how it is done needs to be addressed individually,” she noted.

The juvenile was held with five other men for the brutal rape and murder of a female paramedical student on December 16, 2012, and was tried under the Juvenile Justice Act. He was put in a remand home for three years, and released on Sunday after completing his sentence amid protests by the parents of the victim and others in the Indian capital.

In other news, at a time when her cousin Parineeti Chopra sparked a debate over whether or not to be thin in Bollywood, Priyanka said she doesn’t believe in the ‘size-zero’ theory. She added that Indian women are known for their curves and should take pride in them.

“I am not a believer of size-zero and have maintained this stance for many years. I believe that everyone is beautiful in every shape and size. Indian women, especially, are born to be curvaceous and they should take pride in that,” Priyanka said at another recent event.

Although known for her slender physique, she shared that she cannot starve herself to attain thin frame due to her Punjabi roots. Parineeti recently caught the attention of weight-watchers after a photo-shoot, which featured her as much slimmer.

Priyanka is not particularly a supporter of starving to get thin. Instead, she feels having a healthy and nutritious diet is a must. On the professional front, the actor is on a roll with her international TV series Quantico, and the recent success of her period drama Bajirao Mastani. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2015.

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