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Emma Watson speaks for equal rights: If not me, who?

By Aurelie Gaborit de Montjou

Staff Writer

At 24, the name of young British actress Emma Watson probably resonates in the minds of the general audience as the iconic Hermione Granger in the globally successful series, Harry Potter series. However, while she will always be known as the young sorceress she played for 10 years, Watson has worked on many other projects both in her acting and professional ventures. For a few years now, the accomplished actress has been using her public influence to promote humanitarian causes. Indeed, she is a humanitarian striving for the promotion of education for girls and women. In July 2014, she was appointed the United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador. The actress has declared that the opportunity she was given was “truly humbling,” and not one she will be taking “lightly.” As part of her new role as ambassador, she recently gave a speech at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, NY, on Sept. 20, 2014. The UN held the event to launch a new campaign called HeforShe, a united movement to reach gender equality across the globe. I watched the speech several times and felt quite inspired with the campaign’s message as well as the way she delivered it.

Watson walked up the stage in a white outfit, quite serious and professional. As she began her speech, I sensed some nervousness both from her voice and her facial expression. However, I noticed that, as experienced actress, she was able to hold her own. During the speech, she converted her nervousness into good public speaking skills. For about 13 minutes, Watson delivered her message in a clear, simple and straightforward manner. She started her speech clarifying a misconception of the meaning of the word ‘feminism.’ Watson said that unfortunately, the word is too often synonymous with the spirit of man-hating.

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.”

After clarifying the proper definition for the audience and her viewers, the actress shared some of her experience of how she has wondered about feminism and gender inequality in the past. I appreciated how she shared some of

her experiences, because it helped people relate with her story. Moreover, it shows that she is not a stranger to the issue; she has personally experienced it. Deeper into her speech, she addressed the inequality of earnings between males and females.

She said,“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.”

I really liked this part of the speech because she defines each example as “a right.” Approaching the issue with this angle is a much better solution than saying it is “unfair that men are paid more, have more respect, are given more chances.” I think it was great that she handled these examples in such a manner because instead of sounding angry and bitter (whCARICATURE: Emma Watsonich would have not made a good impression), she called for equality of both sexes, without practicing hatred toward men. Watson mentioned Hillary Clinton’s feminist speech in 1995. It stood out to the actress that only 30% of the audience was male. Then, she made a really valid point.

“How can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?”

By formally inviting all the men in the room and in the world to take the opportunity to participate in the fight for gender equality, she went a step further and wiped out the misconception that gender inequality is a women-only issue. I appreciated the part of her speech where she also discussed the struggle faced by men regarding gender inequality. Watching the speech made me realize that girls and women are not the only one who face gender inequality. On the contrary, numerous standards of our society are difficult to live with for quite a lot of boys and men. Gender equality is not a benefit that men were born with, and this is why both men and

women, together, have to unify and strive for equality.

Toward the end of her speech, she made a great move when she laughed at herself regarding being nothing but the girl from the Harry Potter series. By taking that initiative, she hushed quite a few vicious tongues.

“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.”

By taking the risk of bringing up her role in the series, she included her fans in the discussion. They will be more likely to hear her and eventually grow an interest in fighting for gender equality along with their idol. She also hushed the people who would say that she is not qualified for the status of ambassador. Indeed, the actress introduced her role in Harry Potter with a dash of humor, but only to finish with a very powerful statement:

“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.”

By saying that, she specifies that she does not pretend to be anyone important, she only claims that she cares a lot for this campaign and wants to do everything in her power to change the situation.

The young actress concluded her speech by admitting how nervous she was about her speech at the UN. However, she continued on by saying that her level of nervousness was not the important thing. The important thing is to fight for gender equality as a unified movement. After exposing real statistics about gender equality to her audience and listeners, she invited people to ask themselves the same question she had previously asked herself; If not me, who? If not now, when?