On September 20th, Harry Potter's actress, Emma Watson, made a passionate plea and challenge to men everywhere to help alleviate the suffering of girls and women everywhere by becoming champions for the cause of Gender Equality. She cited her own pain when she discovered that, as a teenager, she was becoming sexualized by the media and pledged to be in control of her own body. This is defintely a message worth taking to heart for this community.
"These rights I consider to be human rights but I am one of the lucky ones. My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn’t love me less because I was born a daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn’t assume I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These influencers were the gender equality ambassadors that made who I am today. They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are. And we need more of those. And if you still hate the word—it is not the word that is important but the idea and the ambition behind it. Because not all women have been afforded the same rights that I have. In fact, statistically, very few have been.
In 1997, Hilary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women’s rights. Sadly many of the things she wanted to change are still a reality today.
But what stood out for me the most was that only 30 per cent of her audience were male. How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?
Men—I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue too."
Click here to see the whole speech: http://youtu.be/Q0Dg226G2Z8