Farhan Akhtar speaks for gender equality at U.N

He’s an actor, a scriptwriter, a producer, director, playback singer and television host. I guess it’s safe to state the obvious; that the man is a versatile artist. With all the laurels, awards and appreciation he has garnered, Farhan is also a magnanimous human being and makes it his point to highlight the plight of the downtrodden. That is why he originated MARD (Men Against Rape and Discrimination) a social organization aimed to eradicate gender inequality and promote positive sentiments for women. The lad showed up at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to represent his organization and voice his views on female empowerment and their role in the society.

Farhan’s efforts in denouncing rape and social inequality against females have not gone unnoticed as he was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Being a Goodwill Ambassador of UN Women is a matter of great pride and honour as it was established directly under the directives of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Farhan gave an interview to UN Radio and in a nutshell, these were the views expressed by him.

“There was a time where

you didn’t hear about what was going on in people’s homes,” he said in the interview. “Women were afraid to talk about if they were the victims of rape. More often than not stigma of rape attached to the victim than to the perpetrator.” The actor was, however, hopeful that this trend was ending and women were becoming more bold and courageous with the changing times. I think those things have changed. A lot of women have a lot more courage to speak about what’s happening with them.”

Farhan’s speech comes at a time when India is under focus as a country where a large quantity of women are raped. A 23 year old girl Jyoti was raped in 2012 at Delhi inside a bus by six individuals. The ghastly incident drew international outburst, anger and sympathy for the victim, who died later on. Recently, a dispute emerged between the Indian government and BBC when the latter aired a documentary based on the 2012 Delhi rape. Comments in the documentary that were given by the rapist generated anger and controversy in India.