“Girls should never be afraid to be smart.”
Emma Watson
“I am
reaching out to you because I need your help. We want to end gender inequality—and
to do that we need everyone to be involved.
This is the
first campaign of its kind at the UN: we want to try and galvanize as many men
and boys as possible to be advocates for gender equality. And we don’t just
want to talk about it, but make sure it is tangible.
I was
appointed six months ago and the more I have spoken about feminism the more I
have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous
with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has
to stop.
For the
record, feminism by definition is: “The belief that men and women should have
equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and
social equality of the sexes.”
I started
questioning gender-based assumptions when at eight I was confused at being
called “bossy,” because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for our
parents—but the boys were not.
When at 14 I
started being sexualized by certain elements of the press.
When at 15
my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t
want to appear “muscly.”
When at 18
my male friends were unable to express their feelings.
I decided I
was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has
shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word.
Apparently I
am among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too
aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive.
Why is the
word such an uncomfortable one?
I am from
Britain and think it is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my male
counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about
my own body. I think it is right that women be involved
on my behalf
in the policies and decision-making of my country. I think it is right that
socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there
is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these
rights.
No country
in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality.
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 me who I am today.
They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing
the world today. 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 1995,
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.
Because to
date, I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society
despite my needing his presence as a child as much as my mother’s.
I’ve seen
young men suffering from mental illness unable to ask for help for fear it
would make them look less “macho”—in fact in the UK suicide is the biggest
killer of men between 20-49 years of age; eclipsing road accidents, cancer and
coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted
sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality
either.
We don’t
often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes but I can see that
that they are and that when they are free, things will change for women as a
natural consequence.
If men don’t
have to be aggressive in order to be accepted women won’t feel compelled to be
submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled.
Both men and
women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to
be strong… It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum not as two
opposing sets of ideals.
If we stop
defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we
are—we can all
be freer and
this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.
I want men
to take up this mantle. So their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free
from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and
human too—reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a
more true and complete version of themselves.
You might be
thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing up on stage at
the UN. It’s a good question and trust me, I have been asking myself the same
thing. I don’t know if I am qualified to be here. All I know is that I care
about this problem. And I want to make it better.
And having
seen what I’ve seen—and given the chance—I feel it is my duty to say something.
English Statesman Edmund Burke said: “All that is needed for the forces of evil
to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.”
In my
nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt I’ve told myself
firmly—if not me, who, if not now, when. If you have similar doubts when
opportunities are presented to you I hope those words might be helpful.
Because the
reality is that if we do nothing it will take 75 years, or for me to be nearly
a hundred before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work.
15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children. And at
current rates it won’t be until 2086 before all rural African girls will be
able to receive a secondary education.
If you
believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists I spoke of
earlier.
And for this
I applaud you.
We are
struggling for a uniting word but the good news is we have a uniting movement.
It is called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward, to be seen to speak
up, to be the “he” for “she”. And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now,
when?
Thank you.”
Emma Watson
