Suman Rao, who has won the Femina Miss India World 2019 title, believes in lending her voice to gender equality and says that more than the ultimate result, having the desire to win is very important to grow in life.
The result of the Miss India pageant was announced over the last weekend. Suman took some time to believe that she had achieved one of her dreams by winning the crown.
"The fact that I am Miss India is sinking in... I am doing fine now. Of course, it is a dream, right? For me, before the competition started, winning was important and that is why I was working towards it. I am always focused and sincere. But now I know that more than the result, the desire of winning is important because that drives me to stay focussed," Suman told IANS in an interview.
Hailing from Rajasthan, Suman, 20, is aiming to strike a larger conversation on gender equality among her community as well as globally.
"I want to be the voice of gender equality. I come from a community where girls go through quite a lot due to inequality, and that also regarding some of the very basic choices. I want to create awareness among them because freedom is about equal opportunity.
"I am very fortunate to be born in a family where my parents let me do everything that I want, but not all girls are as lucky as I am. The point is that when it comes to our right, we should be aware of it, and stand for ourselves first.
"When it comes to gender discrimination, in any part of the world, the root cause is a mentality that needs to be changed. Once the mind is in the right direction, it reflects on society," added the student of Chartered Accountancy and admirer of Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone.
Given an opportunity, Suman wants to try her hand at acting. She is currently investing her time in modelling, training for the international beauty pageant and college studies.
She will be representing India at the Miss World 2019 pageant which will take place in Pattaya, Thailand on December 7.