Farhan Akhtar thanks fans for support

Mumbai, Nov 14 (IANS) Farhan Akhtar is the first man to be appointed as UN Women's South Asia Goodwill Ambassador and the actor-filmmaker, who has been vocal about crimes against women, gives credit to his fans for giving him the "energy" to stay on this path.

The versatile star has represented the voice of numerous concerned men on the important issue of gender equality and violence against women and girls in India through his Men Against Rape and Discrimination (MARD) campaign.

After the announcement of his appointment, he was flooded with good wishes on Twitter.

"Thank you to all sending their love re the @UN_Women announcement. It is with your support that I've had the energy to stay on this path," he tweeted Friday.

UN Women is the United Nations organisation dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment.

Farhan will dedicate his efforts as UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia towards the empowerment of women and girls, and will serve as an advocate for UN Women's newly launched HeForShe initiative in advocating for gender equality and women's empowerment.