With a career that includes acting, singing, film producing and even winning the Miss World 2000 pageant, it is unsurprising that Priyanka Chopra is one of India’s highest-paid and most popular celebrities. Although initially an aspiring aeronautical engineer, Priyanka ended up following her dream of being a film star, and consequently gained success in the Bollywood film industry. Amongst her array of awards, she has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine, and Forbes has listed her amongst the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
Alongside her vocational successes, Priyanka equally made a name for herself as a feminist and gender rights activist. In an interview she did with Variety magazine, she stated that “Feminism is not about berating or hating men…feminism is just saying give me opportunities without judging me for the decisions that I make, the same freedom that men have enjoyed for so many centuries.”
In order to promote her views on equality, she has been working with UNICEF since 2006, and in 2016, she was appointed the global Goodwill Ambassador for child rights. During her time at UNICEF, she has partnered with numerous campaigns:
Deepshikha, which aimed to strengthen the employability of young females by providing life advice, enterprise skills and networking training.
Awaaz Do, which was in collaboration with the government of India and focused on every child’s entitlement to free schooling through the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act.
Dare to Care, which fundraised to support adolescent girls in countries where child marriage is prevalent.
End Violence against Children, which raised awareness of physical, emotional and sexual violence towards children.
Priyanka even set up her own foundation, named after herself, which works towards providing support to unprivileged children worldwide. The Priyanka Foundation’s purpose is to serve chronically ill children and families by implementing Child Life service programs.
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