Rajinikanth's daughter Aishwaryaa Dhanush is the new UN advocate for Gender Equality in India

Noted filmmaker and actor Rajinikanth’s daughter Aishwaryaa Dhanush was recently appointed United Nations Women’s Advocate for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in India.

Aishwaryaa’s appointment was announced by Lakshmi Puri, U.N. Assistant Secretary General and U.N. Women Deputy Executive Director.

Aishwaryaa will help raise awareness of U.N. Women’s core message of gender equality and women’s empowerment across India, boosting the organisation’s efforts to close the gender gap and achieve a more equal world — a Planet 50-50, by the year 2030, a release said.

Puri was quoted saying that Aishwaryaa “inspires confidence in young women and girls across South India and beyond.”

On her part, Aishwaryaa said it would be an ‘honour’ to serve as U.N. Advocate for Women’s Empowerment. Rajnikanth was quoted as saying that he was “proud and delighted” to see his daughter being associated with the U.N.

Aishwaryaa becomes part of a list of celebrities like actor-director Farhan Akhtar, tennis star Sania Mirza, British actor Emma Watson, Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman and Anne Hathaway and Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol of Thailand who have joined hands with U.N. Women to work for gender equality and the empowerment of women, the release said.

Also read : Why United Nations appointed Anne Hathaway as their Global Goodwill Ambassador

Aishwaryaa has been into a lot of philanthropic activities for the underprivileged people, which is primarily why she was chosen for the United Nations' honour. The event was also attended by her husband, Kollywood actor Dhanush and her mother Latha Rajinikanth. Aishwarya is known as a director and a classical dancer. As a filmmaker, she has made two films so far, Dhanush starrer '3' and 'Vai Raja Vai'. Other than pursuits in dancing and direction, she has also tried her hand in playback singing twice. She began her career working as an erstwhile assistant to director and Dhanush's brother Selvaraghavan and shot to fame with her debut film.