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Emma Watson's Speech at UN September 20, 2014

Emma Watson gave a speech at the UN launching a campaign called "He For She" to promote gender equality. She argued that feminism has unfairly become associated with man-hating, but that it actually aims for equal rights and opportunities regardless of gender. Watson noted that while she has benefited from inadvertent feminists like her parents and teachers, many women still face restrictions and discrimination. She called on men to join the movement for gender equality, as it affects everyone.

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76 views2 pages

Emma Watson's Speech at UN September 20, 2014

Emma Watson gave a speech at the UN launching a campaign called "He For She" to promote gender equality. She argued that feminism has unfairly become associated with man-hating, but that it actually aims for equal rights and opportunities regardless of gender. Watson noted that while she has benefited from inadvertent feminists like her parents and teachers, many women still face restrictions and discrimination. She called on men to join the movement for gender equality, as it affects everyone.

Uploaded by

Danny Malon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Emma Watson’s Speech at UN

September 20, 2014


新島学園中学校　３年　小井土　史　織
中学生―Ｄ部門

Today, we are launching a campaign called “He For She.” I am reaching


out to you because we need your help. We want to end gender inequality, and
to do this, we need everyone involved. The more I’ve 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.
I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago. When I
was eight, I was confused at being called bossy because I wanted to direct the
plays that we would put on for our parents. But the boys were not. When at
fifteen, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams
because they didn’t want to appear muscly. I decided that I was a feminist.
But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an
unpopular word. Women are choosing not to identify as feminists.
Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one? 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 the decisions
that affect my life. But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the
world where all women can expect to receive these rights. 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 that I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day.
These influences 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. We need more of those.
In 1995, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women’s
rights. Sadly, many of the things she wanted to change are still true today.

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But what stood out for me the most was that less than 30% of the 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, gender
equality is your issue, too. Statesman Edmund Burke said, all that is needed
for the forces of evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.

中学生―Ｄ部門
If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists
that I spoke of earlier, and for this, I applaud you. We are struggling for a
uniting word, but the good news is that we have a uniting movement. It is
called He For She. I am inviting you to step forward to be seen, and to ask
yourselves, “If not me, who? If not now, when?”

出典：http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-
equality-is-your-issue-too

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