Priyanka Chopra makes a powerful statement about education for Indian girls

Busy shooting for the second season of her US television show, Quantico, Priyanka Chopra took a break to participate in UNICEF’s Girl Rising campaign, talking about what it’s like to be a girl in India, in a one-minute video.

Is it easy being born a girl in India, Chopra is asked at the beginning of the video.

She replies: “It’s very, very difficult to be a girl in India. Since the time we are born we are not valued enough as compared to the boys. We are told that a girl is ‘paraya dhan’ (belongs to others). If a family doesn’t have a son, then when somebody dies, they don’t get to heaven.”

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Chopra also talks about a very important fact: that education equips anyone to deal with anything in life.  The video ends with the phrase: “We rise because of our teachers.”

Chopra is brand ambassador for the Girl Rising campaign, which aims to promote education for girls around the world.  In 2010, the actress was appointed a UNICEF national ambassador for children’s rights. 

She tweeted the Girl Rising video on her social media account on Monday.

https://twitter.com/priyankachopra/status/772786401179947008

Having put herself firmly on the word map, any message from Priyanka Chopra is sure to make people sit up and take notice.

Feature Image Credit: Deccan Chronicle