We all know her as Hermione from Harry Potter before. Now, she is fighting for global gender equality and against poverty. Watson has used her household name to lead nonprofits, ethical brands, and critical movements into the mainstream. She always encourages young men and women in her every endeavor to ask themselves, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” As the youngest A-lister to be appointed as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, she shows the power young influencers have in the pursuit of global good.
Watson started her humanitarian efforts in February 2010 when she collaborated with People Tree, which is a fair trade fashion pioneer and garment retailer. “I wanted to help People Tree produce a younger range,” Watson explained, “because I was excited by the idea of using fashion as a tool to alleviate poverty and knew it was something I could help make a difference with. It has been the most incredible gap year project.” With that, the items in this collection were all handmade from organic and fair trade cotton products by disadvantaged people in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
Then, when Watson was appointed by UN Women to be a goodwill ambassador to advocate the young women’s empowerment, she visited Bangladesh and Zambia to promote girls’ education. She even provided the resources for the girls herself. That is why she remains a unique inspiration among young celebrities.
Also, Watson launched the HeForShe campaign in order to invite men to join the fight for gender equality. As the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, she was one of the leaders for the said campaign. In her speech during the campaign’s launch, Watson explained how the fight is futile if only one sex participates. “I am reaching out to you because I need your help. We want to end gender inequality – and to do that we need everyone to be involved,” she said, directly addressing men around the globe. “Men – I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue too.” The UN Women HeForShe campaign aims to get 100,000 men and boys involved in the fight to achieve gender equality. Actors Matt Damon, Patrick Stewart, Antonio Banderas and Kiefer Sutherland, even South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu is on board are in full support of the said campaign.
Emma Watson is truly an inspiration for us all.
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