Feminism is misunderstood: Frieda Pinto

Indian actress Freida Pinto, who rose to fame with Oscar-winner 'Slumdog Millionaire', says the feminism advocates gender equality but is largely misconstrued as an anti-male concept.

The 30-year-old actress says feminism is the need of the hour as gender bias is a sad reality today.

"Feminism to me is equality. There is no man over woman and vice versa. Feminism is a very misconstrued and misunderstood topic.

"As soon as we say feminism, it does not mean all men should become subordinate and women should be the ones who rule the world. The only way we can have a progressive and successful country or world is when men and women treat each other as equals," Freida told PTI.

The young star says though men and women have different roles to play, they should complement each other rather than outdoing one another.

"There are certain roles that men play and others that women play. Our reproductive organs are different and clearly there is a reason why women carry the baby but that does not mean the man cannot help out with the caring of the child.

"Father is as much a nurturer as the mother. I grew up with that equality so I can say people who understand feminism understand that men and women are equal but have different roles to play," she said.