WEBVTT

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And now let's turn to a young
woman who has chosen to lend

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her voice to this very important
solidarity movement.

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She's a leading British actor,

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an advocate for gender equality
in her own right.

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She's been involved with
the promotion of girls

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education for several years.

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As part of her humanitarian
efforts,

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she's visited Bangladesh,
Zambia,

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recently returned as we just
heard from Uruguay

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on her first mission
with UN Women.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

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please join me in welcoming to
this stage our co-host

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and the UN Women's Global
Goodwill ambassador,

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Emma Watson.

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[applause]

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Your Excellencies,
UN Secretary General,

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President of the General
Assembly,

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Executive Director of UN Women,
and distinguished guests,

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today we are launching
a campaign called for HeForShe.

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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

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boys as possible 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

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as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women six months ago.

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And, the more I've spoken
about feminism,

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the more I have realized that
fighting for women's rights

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has too often become 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

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a long time ago.

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When I was 8,

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I was confused at being
called "bossy"

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because I wanted to
direct the plays that

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we would put on for our parents,
but the boys were not.

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When at 14,

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I started to be sexualized by
certain elements of the media.

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When at 15,

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my girlfriends started dropping
out of their beloved

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sports teams because they didn't
want to appear muscly.

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When at 18,

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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

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become 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 whose

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expressions are seen as too
strong, too aggressive,

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isolating,
and anti-men.

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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 I am paid the 
same as my male counterparts.

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I think it is right that I
should be able

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to make decisions about
my own body.

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I think... [applause]

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I think it is right that women
be involved on my behalf

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in the policies and the decisions
that will affect my life.

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I think it is right that
socially,

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I am afforded the same
respect as men.

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But sadly, I can say that
there is no one country in

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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

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love me less because I was
born a daughter.

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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 were the
gender equality ambassadors

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that made me who I am today.

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They may not know it,

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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,

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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 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

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Beijing about women's rights.

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Sadly, many of the things
that she wanted to

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change are still true today.

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But what stood out for me the
most was that less than

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thirty percent of the
audience were male.

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How can we effect change in
the world when only half

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of it is invited or feel
welcome to participate

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in the conversation?

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Men, I would like to take
this opportunity to

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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,

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I've seen my father's role
as a parent

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being valued less by society,

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despite my need of his
presence as a child,

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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 less of a man.

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In fact,
in the UK,

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suicide is the biggest killer of
men between 20 to 49,

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eclipsing road accidents, cancer
and coronary heart disease.

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I've seen men made fragile
and insecure by a distorted

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sense 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

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gender stereotypes,
but I can see that they are,

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and that when they are free,

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things will change for women
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,

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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 perceive
gender on a spectrum,

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instead of two sets
of opposing ideals.

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[applause]

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If we stop defining each
other by what we are not,

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and start defining ourselves
by who we are,

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we can all be freer,

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and this is what
HeForShe 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

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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,

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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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and what is she doing
speaking at the UN?"

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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,

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and I want to make it better.

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And, having seen
what I've seen,

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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?
If not now, when?"

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If you have similar doubts

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when opportunities are presented
to you,

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I hope that those words
will be helpful.

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Because the reality is that
if we do nothing,

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it will take 75 years,
or for me to be nearly 100,

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before women can expect to be paid
the same as men for the same work.

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Fifteen point five million girls
will be married in

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the next 16 years as children.

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And at current rates,

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it won't be until 2086 before 
all rural African girls can

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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,

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but the good news is that we
have a uniting movement.

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It is called HeForShe.

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I am inviting you to
step forward,

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to be seen and to ask yourself,
"If not me, who?

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"If not now, when?"

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Thank you very, very much.

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[applause]

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What a beautiful,
beautiful speech.

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Uh, what a beautiful
thought.

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Emma, pay attention.