Recently, Vidya Balan (who is promoting her film Tumhari Sulu) revealed in an interview about how she faced sexism early in her life. “The film industry has been really nice to me. I’m quite head-strong. But I think it can really be sexist. In the initial phase of my career, I did face a fair amount of sexism. I used to be really angry about that,” she told ANI. 

“I was told he has been given dates, so you have to work around them, but I was never asked like that. The male actor would always get a bigger van, a bigger hotel. People would always say like, ‘do you need to listen to story?,” she added. 

Like Gurmehar, there are a number of women who’re now coming forth and unabashedly calling out the blatant gender bias that exists in our society. And in recent years, we’ve also seen a growing number of celebrities who have finally put an end to their political correctness and are speaking out against sexism. So here’s taking a look at all those women who fought back and have been an inspiration for other women to speak out against the hypocritical society.

Kangana Ranaut

Not a woman to mince her words, Kangana Ranaut has a reputation of speaking her mind and is blatantly honest in an industry which thrives on being politically correct most of the times. And if you missed out on the recent Koffee with Karan episode, this fiery lady called out Karan Johar for nepotism at his own show. We are definitely fans of her honesty and devil-may-care attitude. More power to her!

Sushmita Sen

She is a woman who lives by her own rules. The fact that she has chosen to remain single for so long is always perplexing for a number of people but she is one woman who doesn’t really give a damn about how society perceives her. In a single post, she gave it off to her detractors and won our hearts all over again. When asked about being single, she replied, “Why not? I am secure in my choice and in being so, I can respect and appreciate another’s choice, whatever it may be. After all, singles or doubles, we play to win. As for me let’s just say, ‘I am yet to meet that sire, who loves to play with fire.”

Radhika Apte

This gutsy woman is surely an inspiration to millions of woman across the globe. There was a time when, at a press conference, a reporter asked her about an intimate scene that was leaked from one of her films and she gave him the perfect reply: “Sorry, your question is very ridiculous. Controversies are made by the people like you. You saw the clip, you shared with other people, so you made the controversy. I am not ashamed of anything. People who are embarrassed about their own body are curious about others’ bodies. So if you want to see a naked body tomorrow, see yourself in the mirror rather than my clip. Then only we can talk about this.”   

Deepika Padukone

She took a stand against sexism after the country’s renowned newspaper tweeted a photo of her from an event with the caption: “OMG! Deepika Padukone’s cleavage show.”Of course it didn’t go down too well with Deepika who retorted, “Yes! I am a Woman. I have breasts and a cleavage! You got a problem?” after which she also published a Facebook post demanding respect for all women, sending across a powerful message that women should not be objectified, even if they are celebrities.