ADVERTISEMENT

Actress defends 'feminism' speech at UN Women's HeforShe Launch

Emma Watson has revealed she has no regrets using the word 'feminism' in her powerful UN speech during the launch of UN Women's HeforShe campaign last year.

Emma Watson

Emma Watson has revealed she has no regrets using the word 'feminism' in her powerful UN speech during the launch of UN Women's HeforShe campaign at the UN Head Quarters last year.

A video of the speech was shared on social media and went viral, opening up an issue that most people, men and women alike, used to avoid. People often link feminism to hating men, which, according to Watson, should stop because it only divides the two sexes.

"I was encouraged not to use the word 'feminism' because people felt that it was alienating and separating and the whole idea of the speech was to include as many people as possible," Watson said in a revealing interview in the latest issue of Porter.

Watson was able to dismiss all the wrong assumptions regarding the word despite the term feminism having negative connotations in the past.

ADVERTISEMENT

In her speech, the Women’s Goodwill Ambassador defined feminism as "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities…. The more I have talked about feminism, the more I’ve realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.”

Watson said she believes embracing and using the word in her speech is a good decision, despite being told to refrain from mentioning the word.

“I thought long and hard and ultimately felt that it was just the right thing to do. If women are terrified to use the word, how on earth are men supposed to start using it?” the British actress said.

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh

ADVERTISEMENT