Emma Watson: Gender equality is your iue too Date: 20 September 2014 I was appointed six months ago and the more I have spoken about feminism the more I have 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.For the record, feminism by definition is: “The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.”
I started questioning gender-based aumptions a long time ago.When at eight I was confused at being called “boy,” because I wanted to direct the plays we would put on for our parents—but the boys were not.When at 14 I started to be sexualized by certain elements of the media.When at 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn‟t want to appear “muscle.” When at 18 my male friends were unable to expre their feelings.
I decided that I was a feminist and this seemed uncomplicated to me.But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word.Women are choosing not to indentify as feminists.Apparently I am among the ranks of women whose expreions are seen as too strong, too aggreive, isolating, anti-men and unattractive, even.Why is the word such an uncomfortable one? I am from Britain and think it is right that as a woman I am paid the same as my male counterparts.I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body.I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decision-making of my country.I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights.No country in the world can yet say they have achieved gender equality.These rights I consider to be human rights but I am one of the lucky ones.My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn‟t love me le because I was born a daughter.My school did not limit me because I was a girl.My mentors didn‟t aume I would go le far because I might give birth to a child one day.These influencers were the gender equality ambaadors that made me who I am today.They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing the world today.And we need more of those.And if you still hate the word—it is not the word that is important but the idea and the ambition behind it.Because not all women have been afforded the same rights that I have.In fact, statistically, very few have been.In 1997, Hilary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women‟s rights.Sadly many of the things she wanted to change are still a true today.Because the reality is that if we do nothing it will take 75 years, or for me to be nearly a hundred before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work.15.5 million Girls will be married in the next 16 years as children.And at current rates it won‟t be until 2086 before all rural African girls can have a secondary education.If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier.And for this I applaud you.We are struggling for a uniting word but the good news is we have a uniting movement.It is called “He for She”.
I am inviting you to step forward, to be seen and to ask yourself “if not me, who? If not now, when?”
Thank you.
6个月前，我被任命为任联合国妇女署亲善大使。我对女权主义说的越多，越发现为妇女权利的斗争往往成为仇恨男人的代名词。这是必须应该停止的。女权主义，顾名思义，就是男性和女性应该享有同样的权利和机会。它是有关于政治、经济和社会等方面性别平等的理论。
我从很久之前就开始质疑基于性别歧视的假设。我8岁的时候，因为想要自己导演一次为父母表演的节目，结果被说是霸道，但是男生却不会被这么说，我对此感到很困惑。14岁的时候，我开始被媒体的特定元素性别化；15岁时，我的女性朋友们放弃了她们喜爱的球队，只因为她们不想看起来肌肉发达；18岁的时候，我决定成为一个女性主义者时，我的男性朋友们拒绝表达他们的感受。
这对我而言，非常简单。但通过我最近的研究发现，女性主义却是一个非常不被接受的词语。很多女性也不愿意被定义为女权主义者。显然，我跻身于强烈表达自身想法的女性之间了，被认为„太嚣张了‟，被认为是孤立的，仇视男性，甚至没有吸引力。为什么这个词已变得那么令人不爽？我来自英国，我认为和男同事得到平等对待是正确的；我认为能够为自己的身体做决定是正确的；我认为（被掌声打断）……我认为女性能够代表我的利益、参与制定能影响到我的决策和决定是正确的。我认为，在社会层面上我能和男性们同样被尊重是正确的。
但遗憾的是，我可以说，世界上没有一个国家的所有女性都可以指望得到这些权利。世界上也没有一个国家能说，他们已经实现了性别平等。这些权利，我认为是人权。但我是一个幸运的人，我的生命纯粹是一种特权，因为我的父母没有因为我是女孩儿而不爱我，我的学校没有因为我是一个女孩儿而限制我，我的导师没有因为我有一天可能会生孩子而认为我没有多大发展。他们是性别平等的大使，让我成为了今天的我。他们也许不知道，但他们无意间成为了改变着现今世界的女权主义者。我们需要更多的人参与其中，如果你还恨这个词，你要意识到这个词本身并不重要。它背后的思想更为重要。因为不是所有的女性都能享受到和我同样的权利。事实上，据统计，很少女性享有这样的权利。
1997年，希拉里·克林顿在北京做了一场关于妇女权利的著名演讲。不幸的是，她想改变的许多事情在今天仍然存在着。因为现实确实如此，如果我们什么都不做，可能再过75年，甚至接近100年，女性们都还不能和男性们同工同酬。按照目前的数字计算，在未来16年内，将有1550万女性会结婚。而直到2086年前，所有的非洲农村女孩都不能享受中等教育。如果你坚信性别平等，那么你已经在不经意间成为了女权主义者，我为你喝彩！我们正在为团结一致而努力，好消息就是，我们现在有了一个团结一致的活动，那就是HeForShe运动。
我邀请你们向前看，问问自己：如果我不做，那么谁来做？如果此时不做？那么等到何时？非常，非常感谢。”
