DUBAI: Part-Middle Eastern star Yara Shahidi has joined forces with actress Charlize Theron for the second installment of the Dior Stand with Women campaign. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle Last Fall, Christian Dior Parfums teamed up with Theron to launch the empowering initiative. Now, Dior Parfums is taking the campaign to the next level by adding women like Shahidi to the roster to share their message. The “Grown-ish” star features in a series of portraits and videos alongside American actress, director and producer Natalie Portman, Chinese actress and singer Li Bingbing, US model Dilone, South Korean figure skater Kim Yuna, Iranian-French architect India Mahdavi and French-Moroccan writer and journalist Leila Slimani. The series of promotional videos is called #Diorstandswithwomen and #Diorchinup. “What we know to be true is that so many young women aren’t given the space to feel heard consistently, to feel as though people are genuinely taking the time to hear what they are saying,” Shahidi shared in a clip. “When I go in to fight for what I believe is right or what is crucial for a certain project, I think there’s many times that women — and it’s only exacerbated when you’re a woman of color — toe the line between being assertive and driven or aggressive. So, it is an important and required constant conversation, even for me, to know that my being assertive, my being driven and my being committed is not something to ever be ashamed of,” she added. Sharing Shahidi’s sentiment, Portman said in the opening of her video: “It was instilled in me very early on that if there isn’t justice, you have to stand up because not standing up against injustice is being complicit with it.” “What we know to be true is that so many young women aren’t given the space to feel heard consistently, to feel as though people are genuinely taking the time to hear what they are saying,” Shahidi shared in a clip. “When I go in to fight for what I believe is right or what is crucial for a certain project, I think there’s many times that women — and it’s only exacerbated when you’re a woman of color — toe the line between being assertive and driven or aggressive. So, it is an important and required constant conversation, even for me, to know that my being assertive, my being driven and my being committed is not something to ever be ashamed of,” she added. Sharing Shahidi’s sentiment, Portman said in the opening of her video: “It was instilled in me very early on that if there isn’t justice, you have to stand up because not standing up against injustice is being complicit with it.” The female-lead initiative first launched in September 2020 in partnership with Theron’s charity organization Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP). Founded in 2007, the initiative is geared toward providing scholarships for higher education support for future leaders. By partnering with CTAOP, Dior will continue to award scholarships over the next few months, which will not only cover tuition fees, but also accommodation, food, books, computers, travel expenses and one-on-one tutoring for the next generation of young women leaders.