Courage is rare, not dead. 2014 was a year of fearless femmes - 10 famous women spoke out publicly and it made a difference. Sure, they did stir up a hornet's nest, but what counts is that they made themselves heard in times of violation and vulnerability, perhaps giving voice to women everywhere across stratas both social and economic.
Here's a look at those who found the courage to speak up:
1. Actress Deepika Padukone Slammed Daily For 'Cleavage' Tweet. "No Issues Celebrating Body, Just Want Respect Off-Screen," She Wrote on Facebook.
Women the world over are increasingly raising their voices against being objectified and Deepika spoke on behalf of many when she said this -
There is only ONE sign that a woman wants to have sex and that is that she says "YES".
2. Sonakshi Sinha Slammed Kamaal R Khan For Offensive Tweets, Called Him 'Waste of Space'
KRK should have known better than to mess with 'Dabangg' Sonakshi Sinha. After all, she has a 'Shotgun' at home. Sonakshi also took down weight-watchers, making it clear on Instagram that she wasn't going to be thin for anyone else.
3. Alia Bhatt Took on Haters in Hilarious Video
After jokes about Alia Bhatt's lack of general knowledge went viral, she answered with an YouTube video called Alia Bhatt: Genius of the Year, in which she laughed at herself. However, the joke was on the haters.
4. Anushka Sharma's Lip Service: Actress Addressed Accusations of Plastic Surgery
She tweeted about her much talked about pout, blaming a 'temporary lip-enhancing tool,' and it sealed the lips of those who were obsessed with hers.
5. Shweta Basu Prasad on Prostitution Scandal: You Created a Mess in My Life, Well Done
"Whoever you are, who imagined this statement, were you smoking funny cigarettes at work? Who talks like that? This sounds like a dialogue from some 80s Bollywood film," wrote actress arrested for prostitution in an open letter to the press. She denied ever having said that money trouble and having to support her family forced her into the sex trade.
6. Shenaz Treasurywala's Open Letter to PM Modi, Amitabh Bachchan and Khans Went Viral
Detailing personal experiences and assaults she had survived over the years, Shenaz spoke of displaced shame. ""My parents may not like me saying this. I apologize to them if they are reading but this is NOT MY SHAME. It's THIER SHAME," she wrote.
7. Parineeti Chopra Slammed Male Journalists Over Sexist Questions
She gave it back to two men who were embarrassed to use words like sex and menstruation. Her message to them: There's nothing wrong in talking about one's body. Period.
Videos Courtesy : Bollywood Now
8. Jennifer Lawrence's Perfect Response to Nude Photo Leak
After private pictures of her were hacked and leaked, actress hit back both at those responsible as well as at critics who believed she was wrong to take the intimate photos in the first place.
She argued that she was in a long-distance relationship with her now ex-boyfriend Nicholas Hoult when the images were taken, and that it was nobody else's business anyway. Her furious response made blogger Perez Hilton apologise for posting the nude photos online.
9. Kirsten Dunst Slammed Apple For Nude Photos Leak
She tweeted: "Thank you iCloud," along with a picture icon of a slice of pizza and a piece of poop.
10. Renee Zellweger Dismissed Surgery Rumours as 'Silly'
Here's a look at those who found the courage to speak up:
1. Actress Deepika Padukone Slammed Daily For 'Cleavage' Tweet. "No Issues Celebrating Body, Just Want Respect Off-Screen," She Wrote on Facebook.
Women the world over are increasingly raising their voices against being objectified and Deepika spoke on behalf of many when she said this -
There is only ONE sign that a woman wants to have sex and that is that she says "YES".
2. Sonakshi Sinha Slammed Kamaal R Khan For Offensive Tweets, Called Him 'Waste of Space'
KRK should have known better than to mess with 'Dabangg' Sonakshi Sinha. After all, she has a 'Shotgun' at home. Sonakshi also took down weight-watchers, making it clear on Instagram that she wasn't going to be thin for anyone else.
Please RT this if u think @kamaalrkhan is a woman disrespecting waste of space and deserves to be hung upside down and given 4 tight slaps.
- Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha) November 13, 20143. Alia Bhatt Took on Haters in Hilarious Video
After jokes about Alia Bhatt's lack of general knowledge went viral, she answered with an YouTube video called Alia Bhatt: Genius of the Year, in which she laughed at herself. However, the joke was on the haters.
4. Anushka Sharma's Lip Service: Actress Addressed Accusations of Plastic Surgery
She tweeted about her much talked about pout, blaming a 'temporary lip-enhancing tool,' and it sealed the lips of those who were obsessed with hers.
5. Shweta Basu Prasad on Prostitution Scandal: You Created a Mess in My Life, Well Done
"Whoever you are, who imagined this statement, were you smoking funny cigarettes at work? Who talks like that? This sounds like a dialogue from some 80s Bollywood film," wrote actress arrested for prostitution in an open letter to the press. She denied ever having said that money trouble and having to support her family forced her into the sex trade.
6. Shenaz Treasurywala's Open Letter to PM Modi, Amitabh Bachchan and Khans Went Viral
Detailing personal experiences and assaults she had survived over the years, Shenaz spoke of displaced shame. ""My parents may not like me saying this. I apologize to them if they are reading but this is NOT MY SHAME. It's THIER SHAME," she wrote.
7. Parineeti Chopra Slammed Male Journalists Over Sexist Questions
She gave it back to two men who were embarrassed to use words like sex and menstruation. Her message to them: There's nothing wrong in talking about one's body. Period.
Videos Courtesy : Bollywood Now
8. Jennifer Lawrence's Perfect Response to Nude Photo Leak
After private pictures of her were hacked and leaked, actress hit back both at those responsible as well as at critics who believed she was wrong to take the intimate photos in the first place.
She argued that she was in a long-distance relationship with her now ex-boyfriend Nicholas Hoult when the images were taken, and that it was nobody else's business anyway. Her furious response made blogger Perez Hilton apologise for posting the nude photos online.
9. Kirsten Dunst Slammed Apple For Nude Photos Leak
She tweeted: "Thank you iCloud," along with a picture icon of a slice of pizza and a piece of poop.
10. Renee Zellweger Dismissed Surgery Rumours as 'Silly'
"I'm glad folks think I look different! I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows," she said.
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