Our girls are our pride: Priyanka Chopra

Empowerment of the girl child has always been a subject close to Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who has now associated herself with Our Girls Our Pride - a new campaign to create awareness about issues such as nutrition, education, health and female feoticide in the country.

The 31-year-old was here Monday to launch the campaign by NDTV and natural resource group Vedanta. Priyanka is its brand ambassador.

Praising the tagline, Priyanka told IANS: "I think it's a brilliant tagline. Our girls are our pride. Our nation worships women in the form of goddesses. We come from a nation where mother, daughter, sister and wife - every form of woman is reverred."

"But it's really sad to see how that India has started treating its girls," she added.

Dressed in a cherry red semi-formal western suit, the multi-faceted star looked chic and her style statement definitely oozed confidence.

Quoting the 2011 census, as per which the child sex ratio in India stands at 840 girls per 1000 boys, Priyanka said she is "shocked".

"If you don't have a girl child, how will you progress," she said.

Apart from spreading awareness, the NDTV-Vedanta Our Girls Our Pride campaign also aims to raise funds to make a positive impact on the lives of girls.

To drive the momentum for the cause, the channel will also join hands with government departments, NGOs, schools and private organisations.