Emma Watson introduces the new HeForShe.org

Have you heard about Emma Watson's HeForShe campaign? It's all about gender equality – which means women and men having the same rights. Watch the first part of the video (to 5 minutes and 15 seconds!), do the exercises and then have a look at the HeForShe website. 

Instructions

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises. Remember you can read the transcript at any time.

Transcript

Ali: Hi, I’m Ali Plum. I’m here to talk to Emma about HeForShe and the launch of the new HeForShe website. For those who don’t know, what is HeForShe?

Emma: HeForShe is a solidarity movement for gender equality, like, in a nutshell.

Ali: Big question here … what is HeForShe trying to achieve?

Emma: We’re trying to achieve gender equality, but I think the really cool thing about HeForShe is that we aren’t just, you know, an education or an awareness campaign. It’s wonderful that so many people are talking about it and it’s great that so many people are talking about it but we’re more than just an awareness campaign, we are mission-focused. We’re really trying to erm… collect, register, be aware of people that are taking action for gender equality, and, and that’s really our main focus.

Ali: Where are we currently in the world with the state of gender equality?

Emma: Well, it’s really interesting because there’s this perceived notion that gender inequality was sort of a thing of the past, that we’ve sort of figured that one out and, you know, we’re kind of where we need to be but when you start to look even just a little bit deeper beneath the surface you start to realise that actually we’ve got quite a long way to go.

Ali: Why is it important to involve men, like myself, with this project?

Emma: I think there’s this perception that feminism or gender equality or women’s issues are to be talked about by women, that it’s for women, and you know, women are like this separate thing but of course, women are human beings and these are human rights that we’re talking about so we kind of need everyone to be part of the conversation and that was really what HeForShe is about and how HeForShe was born, was that we wanted to make sure that conversation was inclusive and also we were talking to people that didn’t agree with us and that was actually really important. We want to create change and so the conversation needs to be opened up to groups that perhaps traditionally hadn’t been associated with engaging with feminism or gender equality.

Ali: Could you give me some examples of stories from men who have become involved with HeForShe?

Emma: I was on the university, er, tour for HeForShe and there was a young man who we asked, you know, like, what would gender equality mean for you and he was like, well, it would mean that I could drink my fizzy cider without my mates taking the piss out of me, and I was like, well, it doesn’t sound like a very compelling reason to achieve gender equality in the world, but actually, he sort of started to elaborate more, and he was just saying that he found the pressure to fit this male mould and to conform to this kind of lad culture of like this very heavy binge drinking, actually really kind of soul-destroying and he was often ashamed of how he acted when he was on these huge, like, binge drinking, erm, things with his mates and and how he treated girls specifically when he was like that and … the dude just wanted to drink fizzy cider, you know what I’m saying?! And it was just … it was just really sweet, actually and I just found that, something so simple, but guys feel this incredible pressure to be ... that, in order to be a man, there are all these ideas that they really have to live up to and to conform to and it’s actually a bit suffocating.

Ali: We’re here to specifically discuss the HeForShe.org website. Why is that so important?

Emma: Well, it’s important because we want to be the first and largest, er, crowdsourcing tool for solutions to gender equality and the reason that is exciting is because we’ve had people sign up to the commitment and I’ve had lots of wonderful emails from men, saying all right, I’m on board, I get it, I’m into it, you know, great, but what do you want me to do? What do you actually want me to do about this now? I’m like … So this has been great, and we’ve received hundreds of emails like this and so we’ve set up this website. But what’s been interesting is that we haven’t wanted to prescribe to anyone how best within their specific country, town, school, community whatever the best way to enact this change is and actually when people have come up with their own solutions organically, there’s been some amazing things that have happened, so, erm, a man in Zimbabwe started a husband school for HeForShe, which was incredible, erm, we’ve had, one of our HeForShe champions, the president of Malawi, just annulled 300 child bride marriages, and sent the girls back to school, which was unbelievable, erm … we’ve had the University of Waterloo decided that they’re going to give scholarships for girls for engineering specifically, which has been amazing, so, we’ve kind of, we’ve realised that, like, you guys have the solutions and we just need to create the platform through which we can inspire you, erm, so, we’ve created this website and we think it’s pretty awesome.

© HeForShe

Discussion

What do you think about the HeForShe campaign? Do you think that gender equality is an important issue? 

Average: 4 (1 vote)
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Comments

Submitted by A01285545 on Mon, 02/22/2021 - 22:34

It is very important, because all human beings are equal and have the same rights and opportunities, and is something that all the people need to know about.

Submitted by A01198220 on Wed, 02/17/2021 - 20:21

It is very important, because all human beings are equal and have the same rights and opportunities, whether we are men or women. Also, all the women and men of the world are part of human history and each of them has a mission or job in life, and that must be respected by all people, whether they are very famous people or people that no one knows. Finally, all people must support the movements that are made against gender inequality and we must begin to be fair to all the people of the world.

Submitted by A1285039 on Mon, 02/15/2021 - 19:52

Gender equality is a foundation to generate peace people should have this thought every day.

Submitted by EdelweissOntiveros on Fri, 02/05/2021 - 04:36

I think she have really good arguments and knows very much about what there are talking about gender equality prevents violence against women and girls. It´s essential for economic prosperity. Societies that value women and men as equal are safer and healthier because it´s a human right

Submitted by A01199006 on Fri, 02/05/2021 - 00:34

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
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Submitted by JoModerator on Fri, 02/05/2021 - 07:35

Hi A01199006,

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In reply to by A01199006

Submitted by A0128508tec on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 23:39

it's very important because in the world we have a lot of unfair differences between women and men

Submitted by A01285624 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:45

Gender equality is important because often everyone's access to opportunities in the social, economic, political and domestic spheres is not respected. Nowadays, there has been an attempt to have a balance between genders because thanks to that, they provoke situations of violence, abuse and mistreatment, generating an individual and social imbalance.

Submitted by a01285753 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:35

Yes, since gender equality is something that is discussed a lot nowadays since there are many situations with if you are a woman they pay you less and if you are a man they pay you more and in certain things I agree that they are men's things but in A matter of work, I feel that women are capable of doing what they ask them and having a salary equal to that of a man, today there are many discussions about this since women are getting stronger to discuss this type of themes. And it is something that must be reasoned now days

Submitted by stephani_2020 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:35

Gender equality is a principle where both for men and women the opportunities and rights in any aspects of our daily lives (education, work and housing) must be equal. In my opinion, gender equality is currently a problem that must be eliminated in the world, since by not respecting this principle millions of people suffer from violence, inequality, injustice and discrimination, which have a negative impact to them person. Therefore, I personally believe that by disseminating the importance of the issue of gender equality as a society, we can raise awareness and generate a positive impact to carry out actions that generate this change in equality.

Submitted by A01285311 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:34

Yes, I think that gender equality is an important issue, because we as community need to be united and without gender preferences. So, if we stop having this problem, there will be more peace and harmony regardless of gender.

Submitted by JEMH on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:34

¡Absolutely! I, personally, think gender equality is something we all need to be conscious about because we all deserve an equal treatment. Boys and girls have rights that can’t be broken. In my opinion, this is a great opportunity not only for women, but also for men because it helps them understand that we aren’t talking about women rights, but about human rights. Like I already said, we all deserve to be treated the same. We are worthy of our rights and of receiving what we deserve. I, honestly, loved how are so many people involved in this project because, I know, they can make a huge impact in all our lives and in the world.

Submitted by A01285319 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:33

It's a good idea for have more gender equality around the world. And I think that is important because everyone deserve to be treated in a good way, without any judgement

Submitted by A01286089 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:33

Yes because right now on this world there are a lot of problems because of equality so I think we should solve this type of issues to have a better and more peaceful world. All genders should ve equally treated because we are all humans that live on the same earth.

Submitted by A01285697 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:33

It's a good idea for have more gender equality around the world. And I think that is important because everyone deserve to be treated in a good way, without any judgement.

Submitted by A01281747 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:33

In my opinion, gender equity is something that we must always be working on if we want to live in a society where we can all live comfortably

Submitted by A01285215 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:33

In my opinion, it is an important issue that everyone should be equal in all subjects, and find this excellent interview can do much awareness about this issue.

Submitted by A01285667 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:33

Yes, because women deserve equal things as same as men. Things as, rights, education, opportunities at work, respect. There are many countries that have different rules for women citizens that say that they aren't allowed to get an education, or some types of jobs that "are for men". Gender doesn't define our rights.

Submitted by hermione123 on Fri, 02/05/2021 - 12:14

A01285667, that's a really wise comment by the way. i can't agree more. and, " gender doesn't define our rights " just so cool! all the best, hermione123

In reply to by A01285667

Submitted by a01286272 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:30

Yes, gender equality prevents violence against woman. It's essential for economic prosperity. Gender equality promotes societie to value women and men as equal are safer and healthier.

Submitted by Cantu on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:30

That´s very good, and also very important so violence can stop and live as a more peaceful society

Submitted by A01285374 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:30

I really think that the gender equality is a very important issue because there is a lot of injustices around the world and a lot of people may lets less the value of a person because they gender and treat privilege some other ones.

Submitted by A01286187 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:28

Yes, I think it is an important issue we need to treat. Because there are so many women’s and men’s getting discriminated thanks of the skin color, if they rich or poor or just not getting a job for being a women or men. Gender equality means that women and men need to be treated the same way not less not more like having the same chances of getting a job.

Submitted by A01285271 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:28

It is very important, because all human beings are equal and have the same rights and opportunities, whether we are men or women. Also, all the women and men of the world are part of human history and each of them has a mission or job in life, and that must be respected by all people, whether they are very famous people or people that no one knows. Finally, all people must support the movements that are made against gender inequality and we must begin to be fair to all the people of the world.

Submitted by A01286107 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:28

I think that it is an important issue in a lot of aspects, I think is something that all the people need to know about.

Submitted by ximenamontero on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:28

It is a very important issue because for years women have not been valued for what they are, there are women who could not have the same income as a man even if they work in the same job, that is simply unfair. Now we are all fighting for equality so that women and men are on the same level. It's just that there are some people who have grown up with the idea that men are superior and clearly it's a difficult thing to get rid of the idea that was instilled in them from a young age.

Submitted by Tato on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:28

In my opinion this is important, but if today most people who complain about the lack of equality towards women, mostly had the necessary knowledge on the subject, they would not make a fool of themselves

Submitted by DELAFUENTE156 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:28

This campaign, in my opinion, is an incredible idea to achieve a gender equality worldwide. Emma Watson is an actress recognized and loved by many people, which can help more people to join this ideology. For me, gender equality is a very interesting and important issue in the world. It is one of the bases for achieving peace and equity. It is the basis for promoting values.

Submitted by a01285982 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:26

Because women deserve equal things as same as men. Things as, rights, education, opportunities at work, respect. There are many countries that have different rules for women citizens that say that they aren't allowed to get an education, or some types of jobs that "are for men". Gender doesn't define our rights.

Submitted by A01286335 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:25

Do you think gender equality is an important issue? Yes, because women have to deserve an equal things as the men. Education is an obligation, like women should have rights too.

Submitted by sofiadavilaa on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:25

I personally am very open-minded on these kinds of issues. I believe that each person can identify themselves as they want and that there is not only the gender of male and female; all people should have the right to identify themselves as they want. I think it is a very complex issue within society and that it has not been completely resolved, but it has been seen that the current generations are more open in this type of issues and hopefully in the future this will be completely normal.

Submitted by A01284634 on Thu, 02/04/2021 - 19:25

I believe that equality is a very important factor since sex does not define our way of thinking or our intelligence, so in many cases they can be done in the same way or even better, but then you cannot know if there are no opportunities.
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Submitted by samoiset on Mon, 12/30/2019 - 08:07

she acted in harry potter wooooooooooooow
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