All for women power
Arjun Kapoor joins Girl Rising’s new campaign to support gender equality and girls’ education
Remember Arjun Kapoor’s hit song, ‘High heels’, from his 2016 film Ki & Ka in which he bent gender roles as he shook legs wearing high-heeled red pumps? Now, the actor is going all out to support gender equality and girls’ education even as he comes on board to support Girl Rising’s latest initiative, Schools Campaign.
What made you join hands with Girl Rising?
I wanted to get associated with a cause that I believe in. For a long time, I was trying to find the correct people, who would come up with the results that are in sync with the kind of commitment that I was making to them. Then, in the last couple of months, this opportunity came by while I was still trying to figure it out. In fact, we managed to generate ` 30 to 35 lakhs recently. With Girl Rising, there is accountability too, so I will be aware of what is happening with the money that we are putting in.
Which is the one aspect that needs urgent attention?
I truly believe that somewhere, equality has always been a very important thought to me. Even when I did Ki & Ka, the thought appealed a lot to me. I feel equality is also about creating equal opportunities. So, today, I would like to see more women getting educated, so that they can be better parents, students, teachers and better people in whatever field they choose to work in. I feel that our country has been greatly held back due to lack of education.
And education can go a really long way…
Yes, and whenever we always talk about change, I feel education is the fundamental requirement to bring about change. I just feel the more women are educated, the better our country will be. It’s great to see women coming to the forefront but I feel if you want to have equal amount of opportunities for both genders — 20 to 25 years from now — you need to start the groundwork today.
Personally too, you have grown up around a lot of women…
Yes, I’ve been around women all my life including my mother and sisters. I genuinely believe that women are very powerful and they should be empowered to have a mind of their own. It’s not about who is bigger and better between men and women, and who is ahead or who is behind. It’s just about empowering women to have the ability to make their own choices, and I feel education plays a big part in that.
We have heard that you will be going on field visits, shooting promotional videos and also playing the role of a narrator in campaign’s videos showcasing success stories…
Yes, I am going to be completely involved. I will be doing a lot of on-ground work. For instance, I will do something on Teacher’s Day and then I will also be attending a conclave in Delhi to create awareness about this campaign. Slowly, I also want to be involved at the grassroot level. Priyanka (Chopra) and Freida (Pinto), too, have been part of Girl Rising, and they have done a tremendous job. I feel that sometimes, it helps when you add a male perspective when it comes to connecting with more number of people.
Do you think not just you but men, in general, too should talk about empowering women openly?
Yes, it’s high time that men started speaking about women empowerment more openly and not just when asked. Actually, the thought occurred to me when I touched five million followers on Instagram, I decided to educate five girls. Now, with six million followers, I will educate six more. I wanted to do something that allows me to pay back to the society in my own small way. When we started doing research, we realised that one needs to think bigger than that, and then we met the correct people (Girl Rising). Raising almost ` 35 lakh is a good start. Now, let’s see how things go but I believe in one step at a time. The cause is something that’s very close to my heart.