Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra was recently seen interviewing the US Vice President Kamala Harris at a leadership forum. While the discussions ranged from pay disparity, gun control, climate change and border issues, the duo was also seen talking about their Indian roots.
The 40-year-old star, who is now a resident of Los Angeles, was invited to interview the Vice President by the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum. Chopra began the interview by striking a conversation about their Indian connection. The interview has been dubbed by Vogue as a ‘one-of-its-kind union of two South Asian trailblazers on the global stage.’ The forum was attended by prominent Democrats from across the country.
Chopra began by saying how they both were daughters of India. “You’re a proud American-born daughter of an Indian mom and a Jamaican father. I am an Indian born of two physicians as parents and a recent immigrant to this country who totally still believes in the wholehearted, you know, American Dream,” the actress said.
Talking about women in leadership, Chopra extolled the fact that India has for long had several women at the highest elected positions. She expressed her bewilderment that the US, which is known as the land of opportunity, has waited long to give women the same opportunities.
“In my home country of India, women have held the highest elected positions of power, from tri-selected Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1966 to the current President, Droupadi Murmu. It is baffling to me that in this country, this land of opportunity and revolution, we have not seen that final ceiling shattered yet,” Chopra said in her address. Harris who resonated with Chopra’s thoughts stated that the strength of a democracy lies in the status that is given to women in that democracy.
Following her interview with Harris, the actress took to her Instagram account to share a post that began with a quote by Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“Since the very beginning, the world has undermined the power of women. We’ve been shunned and silenced, but thanks to the scarifies and tenacity of so many selfless women, we are in a place today where we can come together and work collectively to right the wrongs. This was a key take away from the conversation I had the honor to moderate with @vp, Kamala Harris at the Women’s Leadership Forum conference in Washington DC last night,” read her post.
While talking about voting rights, in her post the actress had said that although she had not voted in the US, her husband could and one day her daughter would. The duo also spoke at length about issues such as pay disparity. Chopra went on to reveal that despite a 22-year-long career, she hadn’t received equal pay as her male counterparts in the film industry. Chopra also met numerous South Asian members of the Biden Administration during her visit to the White House.