Malala Yousafzai lends support to Twinkle Khanna's 'Padman'

Twinkle Khanna's effort towards women's empowerment through Padman have gained global recognition - and Malala's lending her full supporting to the goal.

The Bollywood star was invited to talk at Oxford University's debate society The Oxford Union on her upcoming film. She addressed the need to spotlight issues relating to menstrual hygiene in order to tackle the taboos and breakdown the stigma attached to periods globally.

Twinkle said, "I hope this movie becomes a movement: where women are no longer held back or shamed by their biological functions."

The actor also had a discussion with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Padman and menstrual hygiene.

Touted as the world’s first feature film on menstrual hygiene, Padman hopes to initiate conversation about menstruation to end the taboo surrounding it.

"My primary motivation to make a movie on menstruation was to bring awareness to a subject that so far has been tucked away in shadows and like Voldemort is never mentioned," she added.

"I would say failure has been my role model. Every time there was an obstacle in my life, I examined it, and invariably it taught me something about myself or the world around me that I didn't know. To not be afraid to keep leaping is what I've always believed in."

Padman stars Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte in lead roles. It is set for release on Feb 9.