Dua Lipa thinks women have been blocked from exploring their “sexual and feminine” sides.

The ‘New Rules’ singer, 27, also told the Sun on Sunday (04.12.22) she wants women to have confidence to be themselves.

She said: “As women, we have been oppressed on how you are supposed to look or be.

“We have been pushed down for too long to truly feel who we really are and explore the sexual and feminine side of ourselves.”

Dua added about women’s place in the music business: “Maybe it has been looked down on.

“We are building our own castles but not necessarily getting the recognition we deserve.”

But she has been inspired by seeing her brother Gjin, 16, and sister Rina, 21, act differently.

She said: “Younger generations have a really interesting look on life.

The way they think is so much more evolved.

“My brother is 16. He is so much more interested in the way things work in the world. The same with my sister.

“Maybe it is the Internet or the way we’ve evolved as people… it is really interesting and refreshing — and inspiring as well.”

Dua also told The Sun for the first time about being turned down by a London stage school, admitting: “I enrolled in a singing and drama school in London.

“I got turned down, and I appealed, and I got turned down again. I was like, ‘Oh my God, why is this happening to me?’

“I just wanted to sing. I was like, ‘I can play the cello, I can do this …’.

“They still didn’t want me. I was like, ‘F***, maybe this isn’t for me.’”