Critics call Priyanka Chopra's Iran position "selective outrage"

(MENAFN) Priyanka Chopra, an Indian actress and United Nations goodwill ambassador, is under fire for condemning the murder in custody of Mahsa Amini in Iran but remaining silent on women's concerns at home.

Last week, the 40-year-old Bollywood diva, who is now residing in the US, expressed her support for the protests in Muslim-majority Iran, saying she is "in awe" of the women who have been resisting the regime for weeks.

“The voices that speak after ages of forced silence will rightfully burst like a volcano! And they will not and MUST not be stemmed,” she posted on Instagram, where she has more than 82 million followers.

Following the murder of 22-year-old Amini, who was jailed for "improper hijab," dozens of Iranian women took to the streets to protest the Iranian government, removing their hijabs and cutting their hair in solidarity. In over a month of protests, dozens of protestors and security personnel have been slain.

“I am in awe of your courage and your purpose. It is not easy to risk your life, literally, to challenge the patriarchal establishment and fight for your rights. But you are courageous women doing every day regardless of the cost to yourselves,” Chopra added.

Critics, nevertheless, have blamed Chopra – who was appointed a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 2016 – of “selective outrage” and “double standards” by not talking about India’s Muslim women, who have been facing assaults for wearing a hijab.

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