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Your excellencies,
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UN Secretary General,
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President of the General Assembly,
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Executive Director of UN Women,
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and distinguished guests.
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Today, we are launching
a campaign called He for She.
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I am reaching out to you
because we need your help.
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We want to end gender inequality,
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and to do this,
we need everyone involved.
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This is the first campaign
of its kind at the UN.
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We want to try and galvanize
as many men and boys as possible
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to be advocates for change.
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And we don't just want to talk about it.
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We want to try and make
sure that it's tangible.
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I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador
for UN Women six months ago.
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And the more I've spoken about feminism,
the more I have realized
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that fighting for women's rights
has too often become
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synonymous with man-hating.
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If there is one thing I know for certain,
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it is that this has to stop.
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For the record,
Feminism, by definition,
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is the belief that men and women
should have equal rights
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and opportunities.
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It is the theory
of the political, economic,
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and social equality of the sexes.
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I started questioning gender based
assumptions a long time ago.
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When I was eight, I was confused
about being called "bossy"
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because I wanted to direct the plays
that we would put on for our parents.
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But the boys were not.
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When, at 14, I started to be sexualized
by certain elements of the media.
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When, at 15, my girlfriends started
dropping out of their beloved sports teams
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because they didn't want to appear muscly.
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When, at 18, my male friends
were unable to express their feelings...
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I decided that I was a feminist.
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And this seemed uncomplicated to me.
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But my recent research has shown me
that feminism has become
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an unpopular word.
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Women are choosing
not to identify as feminists.
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Apparently, I am among the ranks of women
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whose expressions are seen
as too strong, too aggressive,
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isolating, and anti-men.
Unattractive, even.
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Why has the word become
such an uncomfortable one?
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I am from Britain,
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and I think it is right that I am paid
the same as my male counterparts.
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I think it is right that I should be able
to make decisions about my own body.
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- I think--
- (raucous applause)
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I think it is right
that women be involved,
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on my behalf, in the policies
and the decisions that will affect my life.
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I think it is right that, socially,
I am afforded the same respect as men.
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But sadly, I can say
that there is no one country
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in the world where all women
can expect to receive these rights.
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No country in the world
can yet say that they have
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achieved gender equality.
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These rights...I consider
to be human rights,
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but I am one of the lucky ones.
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My life is a sheer privilege
because my parents didn't love me less
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- because I was born a daughter.
- (hooting)
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My school did not limit me
because I was a girl.
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My mentors didn't assume
that I would go less far
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because I might give birth
to a child one day.
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These influences,
with the Gender Equality Ambassadors
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that made me who I am today...
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they may not know it,
but they are the inadvertent feminists
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who are changing the world today.
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We need more of those.
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And if you still hate the word,
it is not the word that is important.
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It's the idea and the ambition behind it.
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Because not all women have
received the same rights that I have.
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In fact, statistically,
very few have been.
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In 1997, Hillary Clinton
made a famous speech in Beijing
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about women's rights.
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Sadly, many of the things that 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%
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of the audience were male.
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How can we affect change in the world
when only half of it is invited,
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or feel welcomed to participate
in the conversation?
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Men...
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I would like to take this opportunity
to extend your formal invitation.
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(applause)
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Gender equality is your issue too.
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Because, to date,
I've seen my father's role
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as a parent being valued less
by society, despite
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my needing his presence as a child
as much as my mother's.
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I've seen young men
suffering from mental illness,
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unable to ask for help,
for fear it would make them
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less of a men--
or less of a man.
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In fact, in the UK,
suicide is the biggest killer of men
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between 20-49, eclipsing road accidents,
cancer, and coronary heart disease.
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I've seen men made fragile
and insecure by a distorted sense
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of what constitutes male success.
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Men don't have
the benefits of equality either.
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We don't often talk about men
being imprisoned by gender stereotypes,
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but I can see that they are,
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and that when they are free,
things will change for women
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as a natural consequence.
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If men don't have to be aggressive
in order to be accepted,
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women won't feel
compelled to be submissive.
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If men don't have to control,
women won't have to be controlled.
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Both men and women
should feel free to be sensitive.
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Both men and women
should feel free to be strong.
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It is time that we all perceived
gender on a spectrum,
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instead of two sets of opposing ideals.
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(applause)
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(Ms. Watson) If we stop defining
each other by what we are not,
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and start defining ourselves
by who we are, we can all be freer.
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And this is what He for She is about.
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It's about freedom.
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I want men to take up this mantle,
so that their daughters,
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sisters, and mothers
can be free from prejudice.
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But also so that their sons have permission
to be vulnerable and human too,
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reclaim those parts
of themselves they abandoned,
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and, in doing so, be a more true
and complete version of themselves.
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You might be thinking,
"Who is this Harry Potter girl?"
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- (laughter)
- "And what is she doing
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- speaking at the UN?"
- And it's a really good question.
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I've been asking myself the same thing.
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All I know is that I care
about this problem, and I want
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to make it better.
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And having seen what I've seen,
and given the chance,
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I feel it is my responsibility
to say something.
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Statesman Edmund Burke said,
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"All that is needed
for the forces of evil to triumph
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is for good men and women
to do nothing."
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In my nervousness for this speech,
and in my moments of doubt,
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I've told myself firmly,
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"If not me, who?"
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"If not now, when?"
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If you have similar doubts
when opportunites are presented to you,
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I hope that those words will be helpful
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because...
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the reality is that if we do nothing,
it will take 75 years,
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or for me to be nearly 100,
before women can expect
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to be paid the same as men.
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For the same work.
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15.5 million girls will be married
in the next 16 years as children.
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And, at current rates, it won't be until
2086 before all rural African girls
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can have a secondary education.
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If you believe in equality,
you might be one of those
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inadvertent feminists
that I spoke of earlier.
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And, for this, I applaud you.
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We are struggling for a uniting word,
but the good news is that we have
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a uniting movement.
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It is called He for She.
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I am inviting you to step forward,
to be seen, and to ask yourself,
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"If not me, who?
If not now, when?"
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- Thank you very, very much.
- (applause)