Between her impeccable style and natural knack for acting, it seems that Emma Watson could not be any more lovely. But then she goes and does something huge, something that transcends a trendy Burberry ad or her role as Hermoine Granger, and we fall in love with her all over again.
In July, Watson announced she that she had been appointed a United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador, joining the ranks of present and past goodwill ambassadors including Nicole Kidman, Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie and Whoopi Goldberg. The announcement was so well received that fans crashed the U.N. Women’s website.
Just this past weekend, Watson delivered her first speech as an ambassador and spoke on behalf of the HeForShe campaign, a global solidarity movement aimed to promote women’s rights and overall equality between the sexes.
The core of her speech came down to her urge for boys and men worldwide to join what has always been a seen as a “women for women” struggle. “Men … I would like to extend your formal invitation,” she began. “Gender equality is your issue, too.”
In this invitation, she highlighted the fact that men, too, can be “imprisoned by gender stereotypes,” and if freed from them, “things will change for women as a natural consequence.”
Watson even brought to light past struggles she had experienced or witnessed as they pertained to gender inequality. “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,” she shared. “When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear ‘muscle-y.’”
Toward the end of her speech, Watson questioned her qualification to speak on behalf of the UN, but insisted that regardless, gender inequality is a problem she cares about and wants to see change.
“You might be thinking who’s this #HarryPotter girl?All I know is I care&want to make it better”- @EmWatson #HeForShe pic.twitter.com/QOIA9SQkGE
— UN Women (@UN_Women) September 20, 2014
If you ask us, she so didn’t need to sell herself short! Her passion for the matter truly showed, and had we been there, we would have been standing on our seats and cheering (she earned herself a standing O, anyway)! In case you didn’t catch her speech, the UN published the transcripts for you to read. Want to watch it for yourself? Check out the video below for Watson’s full speech!