Dia Mirza, Deepika Padukone, Farhan Akhtar and other Bollywood stars who champion social causes

Actress and United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza on Saturday took pride in being associated with the organisation as the United Nations Day was observed on October 24. The former Miss India took to Instagram to educate the masses about the relevance of UN Day and about how it came into existence. “I’ve been a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador and SDG advocate for over a year now and could not be more proud of the work the UN does every day. Sustainability and peace are extremely personal goals for me and I stand in solidarity with the UN in their mission and vision,” she wrote. In that spirit, here are other stars who have lent their support to global and Indian causes.

Deepika Padukone: The ‘Piku’ actress has been open about her struggle with depression and created the Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF) in June 2015 to promote awareness about mental health issues in India. “We need to destigmatise mental illness and spread awareness about mental health. I know in the current scenario we lead stressful lives but you have to keep reminding yourself that it is important to live, love and laugh. After all that is what life is all about,” Padukone said during the launch.

Farhan Akhtar: The actor and filmmaker was the first man to be appointed as UN Women’s South Asia Goodwill Ambassador in November 2014. The appointment came on the heels of his work creating the Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD) campaign to promote safety of women in India. “I am honoured to serve UN Women as the Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia,” said Akhtar in 2014. “This gives me and our MARD initiative an added impetus to work together towards a more gender equal India and world. I am a supporter of UN Women’s HeForShe campaign and the role men and boys can play in stopping crime against women and girls, and working towards gender equality. Through this new partnership I want to call on all men and boys to be a catalyst for change and, through our actions, create a value system to end gender disparity.”

Priyanka Chopra Jonas: In 2019, the Bollywood star was honoured with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award for her philanthropic work as Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights. “I am in awe of the tireless efforts and unwavering commitment of the people who work for #UNICEF. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this journey. To serve as your Goodwill Ambassador is the privilege of my life,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. Chopra Jonas was first appointed as Global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador in 2016.

Amitabh Bachchan: Bachchan, as an ambassador for Unicef, has promoted the eradication of measles and rubella infections in children. He has earlier been associated with various health campaigns such as polio, hepatitis B, tuberculosis and diabetes. In 2017 he tweeted: “My ambassadorship for Unicef extended for another two years after success of polio drive, now working for MR inoculation for kids.”

Kareena Kapoor Khan: The ‘Jab We Met’ actress has championed the rights of girls to be educated while working along with Unicef India, having been appointed their celebrity advocate in 2014. “There is a direct link between a girl being educated and empowered,” the actress said in 2018 while at an event in New Delhi, organised by Unicef India, to discuss the importance of celebrating mothers and their newborns. “There is a very important need to stress on education of the girl child. Pregnancy during adolescence puts both the mother and child in danger and proper education will help put a check on it.”

Madhuri Dixit Nene: The Bollywood veteran was appointed as Unicef’s ‘celebrity advocate for child rights’ in 2014. She said at the time she was honoured to be associated with a cause close to her heart. “Each child should get the proper nutrition, upbringing and proper education. I feel strongly about that and I am honoured to be associated with Unicef. I want to work hard for it and make a difference in people’s lives. If I can make a difference in somebody else’s life, then I will consider myself fortunate,” Dixit-Nene, a mother of two, said.