Freida Pinto says every woman she knows has been groped.
The actress grew up in Mumbai, India, where incidents of sexism and assault are rife. She admits that experiencing inappropriate behaviour isn't unusual among the people she knows.
"Every woman I know has been groped," she revealed to German magazine Brigitte. "I don't know any women who use public transport and have never experienced it. And of course it's happened to me too."
The 29-year-old now works alongside charity Plan on the Because I am a Girl project, which helps to educate females in some of the poorest parts of the world, giving them a better chance in life.
While she acknowledges the difficulties women continue to face, Freida doesn't want to paint an entirely bad picture of her home country.
"It's somewhat upsetting that India is portrayed as the worldwide centre of rape," she explained. "Unfortunately, rape happens all over the world."
Plan's project hopes to change the lives of 4 million girls all over the globe. Through her work with the organisation, Freida has learnt a lot.
"That the birth of a girl isn't valued or even seen as a weight on the family's shoulders..." she grimaced.
"That people say there is no sense in educating her, because by the age of 17, 18, she'll be married. This is the mentality of not just the poorest people in India, but even among some of the educated families."
Alongside her humanitarian work, Freida has also been busy filming, with her latest movie Desert Dancer out next year.
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source: newshub archive
