Actress Emma Watson urged young men to speak out when women are degraded as she launched a new initiative to address gender equality.
The star, who is a UN ambassador for women, delivered the impassioned speech to politicians and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Watson became emotional as she told the audience of the overwhelming response she has received since launching the #HeForShe campaign in September.
The campaign aims to encourage more men and husbands to champion women’s rights, with celebrities such as Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston and Douglas Booth supporting the initiative.
Sitting beside UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, Watson said: “Everything from marathons being run, merchandise being created, 15-year-old boys writing to national newspapers deploring female discrimination, young girls collecting hundreds of signatures – it has all happened in the last four months.
“I would love to claim that this campaign and the results of it are the results because of my incredible speech writing skills, but I know that is not the case.
“It is because the ground is fertile. It is my belief there is a greater understanding than ever that women need to be equal participants in our homes, in our societies, in our governments and in our work places. And they know that the world is being held back in every way - because they are not.”
Watson outlined the plans for Impact 10x10x10, the next phase of the campaign, which calls on governments, corporations and universities to address deficiencies in women’s empowerment and gender equality.
A video of the actress delivering a speech in New York about the launch of #HeForShe last year has been viewed more than 11 million times and sparked more than 1.2 billion social media conversations.
