of UN Women, and distinguished guests, today, we are launching a campaign called He For

She. I am reaching out to you because we need your help. We want to end gender inequality,

and to do this, we need everyone involved. This is the first campaign of its kind at

the UN. We want to try and galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for

change. And we don't just want to talk about it - we want to try and make sure it is tangible.

I was appointed as goodwill ambassador for UN women six months ago, and the more I've

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 assumptions a long

time ago. When I was eight, I was confused about being called bossy, because I wanted

to direct the plays that we would put on for our parents, but the boys were not. When at

fourteen, I started to be sexualized by certain elements of the media. When at fifteen, my

girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams, because they didn't

want to appear muscle-ey. When at eighteen, my male friends were unable to express 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 identify as feminists. Apparently, I am among the ranks of women whose expressions

are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, and anti-men. Unattractive, even. Why has

the word become such an uncomfortable one? I am from Britain, and I think it is right

that 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 the decisions that will affect my life. 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 that 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 less because I was born a daughter. My school didn't limit me, because I was a

girl. My mentors didn't assume I'd go less far, because I might give birth to a child

one day. These influences, were the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am

today. They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing

the world today. We need more of those. And if you still hate the word, it is not the

word that is important. It's the idea and the ambition behind it. Because not all women

have received the same rights that I have. In fact, statistically, very few have been.

In 1997, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women's rights. Sadly, many

of the things that she wanted to change are still true today. But what stood out for me

the most is that less than 30% of the audience were male. How can we affect change in the

world, when only half of it is invited, or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?

Men, I would like to take this opportunity, to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality

is your issue too. Because to date, I've seen my father's role as a parent being valued

less by society, despite my needing his presence as a child as much as my mother's. I've seen

young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help, for fear that it would make

them less of men - or less of a man. In fact, in the UK, suicide is the biggest killer of

men between 20 to 49, eclipsing road accidents, cancer, and coronary heart disease. I've seen

men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men

don't have the benefits of equality either. We don't often talk about men being imprisoned

by gender stereotypes, but I can see that they are, and that when they are free, things

will change for women as a natural consequence. If men don't have to be aggressive, in order

to be accepted, women won't feel compelled to be submissive. If men don't have to control,

women won't have to be controlled. Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive,

both men and women should be free to be strong. It is time that we all perceive gender on

a spectrum, instead of two sets of opposing ideals. If we stop defining each other by

what we are not, and start defining ourselves by who we are, we can all be freer, and this

is what He For She is about. It's about freedom. I want men to take up this mantle, so that

their daughters, sisters, and mothers can be free from prejudice. But also, so that

their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too. Reclaim those parts of themselves

they've abandoned, and in doing so, be a more true and complete version of themselves. You

might be thinking, who is this Harry Potter girl, and what is she doing speaking at the

UN? And it's a really good question. I've been asking myself the same thing. All I know

is that I care about this problem, and I want to make it better. And having seen what I've

seen, and given the chance, I feel it is my responsibility to say something. Statesman

Edmund Burke said: “All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph, is for good

men and women to do nothing.” In my nervousness for this speech, and in my moments of doubt,

I've told myself firmly: If not me, who? If not now, when? If you have similar doubts

when opportunities are presented to you, I hope that those words will be helpful. Because

the reality is that if we do nothing, it will take 75 years, or for me to be nearly 100

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 sixteen 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 world, but the good news is that

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 very very

much.