With her elegant outfit and chic make-up, Emma Watson looks all set for another film premiere.
But the 24-year-old Harry Potter star was attending a very different type of photo call – as she continued her work as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
She was at the launch of the HeForShe campaign in New York on Saturday, where she delivered a speech calling for men to play a greater role in ending gender inequality.
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Emma Watson attended the launch of the UN Women HeForShe campaign in New York on Saturday
At the United Nations headquarters, she revealed the sexism she has experienced throughout her life, saying it started at the age of eight when she was branded ‘bossy’ for wanting to direct school plays.
She continued: ‘At 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’…at 18 my male friends were unable to express their feelings.’
Miss Watson, who played the witch Hermione in the Harry Potter films, is the latest celebrity to take on a role with the UN, following stars such as George Clooney and Angelina Jolie.
The UN Women HeForShe campaign aims to get 100,000 men and boys involved in the fight to achieve gender equality.
She revealed the sexism she has experienced throughout her life, saying it started at the age of eight when she was branded ‘bossy’ for wanting to direct school plays
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) will activate an online map to track the progress of countries in promoting equality of the sexes
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will activate an online map to track the progress of countries in promoting equality of the sexes.
‘Our main goal is to increase the involvement of men and boys in the struggle to achieve gender equality,’ said head of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka.
‘It cannot be that women will do this alone,’ she said. ‘It remains an important women’s issue that requires the whole of society, men and women, to be involved.’
Mlambo Ngcuka, who announced the ‘HeForShe’ campaign in March, called on the world’s fathers, sons, husbands and brothers to stand up and support equality for women in all areas of life.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union says less that 22 percent of parliamentarians are women. There are also still 100 countries with laws that prevent women’s meaningful involvement in the economy, Mlambo Ngcuka said.
She said projections indicate that if things don’t change it will take 95 years to achieve gender equality, and by 2020 and some 140,000 girls will be forced into child marriage.
UN Women said supporters of the HeForShe campaign include actors Matt Damon, Patrick Stewart, Antonio Banderas and Kiefer Sutherland, and South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The actress revealed her girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams at the age of 15 because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscly’
Source: dailymail.co.uk
