Give me the freedom to make my own choices without judging me: Priyanka Chopra
Actor speaks about feminism, equality and more..
PHOTO: FILE
Crowned Miss World at the age of just 18, it was obvious that Bollywood diva Priyanka Chopra - popularly known as PeeCee - was destined for great things.
Ever since then, she's carved herself a niche in Bollywood, Hollywood and hearts across the world. But it isn't just her astonishingly good looks that people obsess over: PeeCee has - time and again - proved that she isn't just another pretty face.
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, the actor has opened up on feminism, gender equality and more.
“Women are shamed all the time, for everything....For what they might wear or say, for what they should be doing, where they’re going...” said the beauty with brains, explaining her decision to wear black to the recent Golden Globes Awards. She did so in solidarity with the Time’s Up movement, which aims to eradicate sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.
“Wearing black on that day was all the women in the world coming together and saying, ‘We stand by each other.’ It was a sign of sisterhood, which was beautiful to see,” Priyanka added.
Priyanka lost 10 big films for saying no to sexual harassment, reveals her mother
The Quantico star went on to speak about feminism. “Why is there a word called feminism? Why is there no 'manism?' It’s because men have never needed it; because for hundreds and hundreds of years, women have been told what we should dress like, what jobs are good for us, what we can do, what a good girl is.”
She continued, “Give me the freedom to make my own choices without judging me. It is not superiority. It is not hating or berating men. It is just saying, ‘Let me make my decisions without shaming or trolling me. Give me those opportunities that men have enjoyed for such a long time.’”
When she was a child Priyanka remembers how her mother Madhu would turn down invitations addressed to ‘Dr and Mrs Ashok Chopra’, “If it was written in my dad’s name, she would never go to a party; she would have to be individually invited. I was raised in a house where my mom had her own personality and standing - she was never a plus one. So I am that person. Nobody’s identity can be just a plus one.”
The former Miss World further spoke about settling down and acknowledged the essential differences between the sexes; resulting in 35-year-old women constantly eing asked when they will be settling down. “Men and women are not equal. We’re not supposed to be equal but we’re supposed to be given equal opportunity, that’s important,” she stressed.
Priyanka Chopra talks child marriages, rape in India
“We are physiologically different. We are physically different. We are mentally different. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. There’s no way we’ll ever be the same people and we shouldn’t want to be. We should celebrate the fact that men and women are so different,” the Baywatch star added.
With a compassion that defies boundaries, Priyanka Chopra is a global citizen challenging insularity. “It doesn’t matter which country you’re from,” she counsels, “What is more important is that you are open to different cultures and the world. I adapt and change because life is no fun without evolution.” Just as surely as time is up on gender inequality, Priyanka’s own time is undoubtedly now.
Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.
Ever since then, she's carved herself a niche in Bollywood, Hollywood and hearts across the world. But it isn't just her astonishingly good looks that people obsess over: PeeCee has - time and again - proved that she isn't just another pretty face.
In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, the actor has opened up on feminism, gender equality and more.
“Women are shamed all the time, for everything....For what they might wear or say, for what they should be doing, where they’re going...” said the beauty with brains, explaining her decision to wear black to the recent Golden Globes Awards. She did so in solidarity with the Time’s Up movement, which aims to eradicate sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.
“Wearing black on that day was all the women in the world coming together and saying, ‘We stand by each other.’ It was a sign of sisterhood, which was beautiful to see,” Priyanka added.
Priyanka lost 10 big films for saying no to sexual harassment, reveals her mother
The Quantico star went on to speak about feminism. “Why is there a word called feminism? Why is there no 'manism?' It’s because men have never needed it; because for hundreds and hundreds of years, women have been told what we should dress like, what jobs are good for us, what we can do, what a good girl is.”
She continued, “Give me the freedom to make my own choices without judging me. It is not superiority. It is not hating or berating men. It is just saying, ‘Let me make my decisions without shaming or trolling me. Give me those opportunities that men have enjoyed for such a long time.’”
When she was a child Priyanka remembers how her mother Madhu would turn down invitations addressed to ‘Dr and Mrs Ashok Chopra’, “If it was written in my dad’s name, she would never go to a party; she would have to be individually invited. I was raised in a house where my mom had her own personality and standing - she was never a plus one. So I am that person. Nobody’s identity can be just a plus one.”
The former Miss World further spoke about settling down and acknowledged the essential differences between the sexes; resulting in 35-year-old women constantly eing asked when they will be settling down. “Men and women are not equal. We’re not supposed to be equal but we’re supposed to be given equal opportunity, that’s important,” she stressed.
Priyanka Chopra talks child marriages, rape in India
“We are physiologically different. We are physically different. We are mentally different. Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. There’s no way we’ll ever be the same people and we shouldn’t want to be. We should celebrate the fact that men and women are so different,” the Baywatch star added.
With a compassion that defies boundaries, Priyanka Chopra is a global citizen challenging insularity. “It doesn’t matter which country you’re from,” she counsels, “What is more important is that you are open to different cultures and the world. I adapt and change because life is no fun without evolution.” Just as surely as time is up on gender inequality, Priyanka’s own time is undoubtedly now.
Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.