I finally had the chance to watch Emma Watson’s stunning speech that she delivered on Monday, September 22, at the UN. Like Watson, I care deeply about women’s rights and I echo her sentiments in knowing how lucky we are that we were both born into societies where there is more support for women than others. However, she is dead on when she said that no country, NONE, zip, zero, can claim that they have gender equality. While most Western countries can claim that they are close, they still have a very long way to go.
What I love so much about this new campaign is that it doesn’t polarize the sexes; there’s room for both. She’s not just calling for the rights of women, she’s also advocating for the rights of men. In recent weeks there have been countless news stories regarding violence against women, this is a very real problem in every country in the world. Every nine seconds in America alone a woman is assaulted or beaten; 1 in 3 women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or abused; 10 million children world wide have witnessed this abuse.
Dallas, TX, has more nonprofits (and restaurants) than any city in America. Just this year Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law announced a new center that would be devoted specifically to domestic violence, sex trafficking and other crimes against women. This new center will work directly with two of our city’s largest agencies dedicated to serving the needs of women – Genesis Women’s Shelter, which serves women and children fleeing domestic abuse and New Friends New Life, which serves women trying to leave the sex industry, sex trafficking and sex slavery.
The success of HeforShe will rely on multiple partners and both sexes working together to educate men and women on their rights. Watson quoted startling statics that the leading cause of death among men ages in 19 – 40 in Britain is suicide; not cancer or car accidents – suicide, because they are too afraid to get help for issues that are deemed “unmanly” by society such as mental illness.
According to Watson’s speech, if countries do not push for gender equality and things remain at today’s levels it will take 75 years for women to be paid as much as men for the same job; 15.6 million young girls will become child brides; and 2,086 African girls will not receive a secondary education. Those are just a few of the statistics.
I loved everything about this speech. Ladies, what happens to women all over the world and in your own country impacts you whether you know it or not. Men, you all have women in your life that you love and they in turn love you, stand up for them, stand up for you. #HeforShe
Do All the Good That You Can 