No matter what credentials a woman holds in India, she would still be scrutinized for how she looks.Body-shaming still exists, and celebrities often become easy prey.Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu, who was lauded for bringing laurels to India, has not been spared from the ruthless judgment of people.?
Harnaaz, who recently walked the ramp, faced the wrath of the netizens who thought it was their job to comment on her body.?The former actor, who won the Miss Universe pageant 2021, recently got body-shamed for 'gaining' weight.
In an interview with PTI, Harnaaz shared her diagnosis of celiac disease, an immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Harnaaz said,
"I'm one of those individuals who was first bullied that 'she's too skinny,' and now they bully me saying 'she's fat.' Nobody knows about my celiac disease. That I can't eat wheat flour and many other things."?
She added, "When you go to a village, you see changes in your body. And I went to New York for the very first time... It is a whole other world altogether."?
"I'm someone who believes in body positivity, and one of the Miss Universes, for the very first time, is going through that.?On the platform of Miss Universe, we talk about women empowerment, womanhood, and body positivity. And if I am going through that... I know there are a lot of people who are trolling me, and it's okay because that's their mindset, their stigmas, but there are a lot of other individuals who are trolled every day irrespective of their Miss Universe or not. I'm empowering them by making them feel that if I feel gorgeous, you are beautiful too."
"For me, everyone is beautiful. It's about how you represent yourself and what kind of ideology you have. Your features do not matter at one moment. If you think that I'm the most beautiful girl, that's why I won Miss Universe; I'm sorry, you're wrong. I might not be the most beautiful (girl), but I might be one of the courageous and confident girls who believe that even if I'm fat, even if I'm thin, it's my body; I love myself. I love the changes, and you should appreciate it because not everyone can go through the changes. So be happy if you're going through changes. If you are facing challenges in life, you should be thankful because that means something good is going to happen."?
Harnaaz Sandhu made headlines in December 2021 when she was crowned Miss Universe. India won the crown for the third time after 22 years.
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