Actress Sheena Chohan has yet another feather added to her cap as the United Nations High Commission reaches out to her for the promotions of the 75 th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Fame Game actress, from the City of Joy, has proven her mettle in the field of acting and entertainment by earlier working with Preity Zinta, Sonakshi Sinha, Sonu Sood, Guneet Monga and others.
She has served as the South Asia Ambassador for United for Human Rights and has helped in spreading awareness about basic human rights and equality, including their existence, purpose and when to use them. Her work has reached out to over 160 million people ever since leading to the UNHC reaching out to her for the anniversary celebrations.
Talking about the celebrations and its significance, Sheena points out, “Awareness and education about our basic rights is vital for our Nation because human rights bring unity and peace. India’s constitution is admired around the world as it was hard fought for, so we must make sure that we and others read it because it stands up for equality, against discrimination and contains important information regarding the Right to Education, Social Security, No Torture (domestic violence), No Slavery (child labour), etc. That’s why we are using the UN’s celebration of 75 years of human rights to call for mandatory human rights education in all schools in India.”
As an actress, she tries to leverage her role in the entertainment industry and spread awareness for the cause. Talking about it she adds, “My work in entertainment works hand-in-hand with spreading awareness and education of human rights. I use the platform to promote human rights and I ask my fellow industry colleagues to help do the same.”
Sheena runs Born Free & Equal a podcast with Fraser Scott, International Ambassador of United for
Human Rights where she brings together names form the Indian cinema. She claims, “Our podcast focuses only on awareness and education - what they are, how they relate to present life, what are the major issues today, etc.”
Identifying the need to educate the younger generation, Sheena sees the scope of Human Rights education being made mandatory in schools in future. She mentions, “What we urgently need is that human rights education becomes mandatory in all schools in India. Step one is that we all know our rights - only after that can we hope for those rights to be followed. My dream is that a movement is created where enough signatures are gained that the government introduces mandatory human rights education in all Indian schools."