Speaker A
Hello. What an honor it is for me to be here with you today on behalf of UN Women to find myself once again in the privileged position of adding my voice to the ever-expanding chorus of those who celebrate International Women's Day.
Anne Hathaway delivers a powerful speech for International Women's Day, highlighting the ongoing struggle for gender equality and the courage of women worldwide.
Key Takeaways
- Gender equality remains a distant goal for many despite progress.
- Violence against women is a major driver for societal change and must be addressed.
- Celebrating women’s courage is essential to maintain momentum for justice.
- Strong feminist movements are crucial predictors of government action.
- Collective commitment and persistent action are necessary to end gender-based violence.
What the video covers
- Anne Hathaway speaks on behalf of UN Women to celebrate International Women's Day.
- She acknowledges the gap between the promise of equality and the reality many women face.
- The speech highlights the ongoing dangers and violence women and girls endure globally.
- Hathaway honors women like Jazelle Pelico, Virginia, and Malala Yousafzai for their bravery in demanding justice.
- She emphasizes the importance of celebrating courage and defiance against silence and injustice.
- The speech recognizes the slow but steady progress made by feminist movements and political accountability.
- Hathaway calls for continued commitment to ending gender-based violence and promoting women's economic empowerment.
- She stresses the significance of authentic communication and uplifting unheard voices.
- The speech concludes with a call to action: 'Don't make us wait,' urging persistence until gender equality is achieved.
- The video also promotes a global English learning community with free resources.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Honor to Speak for UN Women
- 00:28Challenges in Achieving Gender Equality
- 00:48The Reality of Women's Safety Today
- 01:14Honoring Courageous Women Who Demand Justice
- 01:39The Cost and Pain of Change
- 02:14Celebrating Defiance and Courage
- 02:46Feminist Movements and Political Accountability
- 03:21Walking the Path Toward Future Peace
- 03:47Grieving the Necessity of Continued Work
- 04:08Tribute to Hope, Grit, and Collective Faith
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
I'm sure I don't need to tell you that this is a strange, thorny moment in the world.
Speaker A
It's very confusing to try and bridge what's actually going on out there, what versus what we hope to achieve in here.
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It's hard to bear the knowledge that the distance between the promise of equality and the experience of it are yet still so far apart for so many.
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It's hard knowing that this day, which is meant to celebrate women, must yet still be about how unsafe it is to be a woman, even less safe to be a girl.
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Are we not all tormented that societal progress for women has in large part been in response to extreme gender violence?
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Are we not tormented by what women like Jazelle Pelico, Virginia, and Malala Yousafzai, to name three amongst half the world, have had to endure?
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These women and girls had the bravery to demand justice when horrific violence was forced on them, and in doing so, by honoring their own right to dignity, changed the world.
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Are we not tormented by this cost of change amid all this pain, all this proof of inequality, all this proof of the stubborn imbalance of justice?
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Do we really dare celebrate? Well, it's just my opinion, but yes. Yes, we absolutely do. It is absolutely our honor to celebrate the courage and power of the women who would not be denied their justice because they chose
Speaker A
action in a world that expects silence. We celebrate their defiance, and we in turn are defiant in celebration.
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We come together today under complicated skies. And yet, we celebrate our generations of warriors who, either by seemingly small individual actions or sweeping government and societal reform, have stayed focused on the true goal of justice for all. Our fighters
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have been the cornerstone of accountability. As political landscapes have changed and as power players have shifted, they have kept the momentum of progress moving forward to all corners of the world. Progress which we know can be devastatingly slow, but which is
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weaving together across time and space, making the lives, rights, and dignity of women and girls more equal in opportunity, more equal in safety, economic empowerment, and freedom to those historically favored. Their work has laid the path for gender equality which
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we proudly walk today together. A path which we pray will lead to the peace of future generations.
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We celebrate the fact that strong autonomous feminist movements are among the most consistent predictors of government action to address violence against women. We celebrate that we have come far enough to have evidence to prove that fact.
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We grieve that there is yet so much evidence of the necessity of this work.
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We celebrate. Yes, we grieve as well. But no matter what, we keep going until it's done.
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Today we come together in tribute to the hope and work and the grit of those who have not yielded to cynicism, who leave the candle of our collective faith in the importance of justice ever lit.
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And with every person who commits to ending gender-based violence in the physical and digital worlds, who commits to championing women's economic empowerment, who demonstrates authentic communication by listening and uplifting the voices of the unheard, and in doing so blunts the danger of silence and
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self-censorship, to every person that does that here and up there and out there, the flame name grows stronger and our experience of being human brighter.
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Friends, our choosing to celebrate today does not signal that we are here to accommodate injustice. No, our celebration today affirms our determination to outlast it.
Speaker A
Don't make us wait, please. Happy International Women's Day. [applause] Join our global community of English learners absolutely free. Download video transcripts, listen offline, start our beginner course, and join live classes with certified teachers. Access over 1,000 resources to improve your English
Speaker A
faster. Everything's in one place. community.englishes.ca. Let's speak English together.
Topics:International Women's DayAnne HathawayUN Womengender equalitywomen's rightsgender-based violencefeminist movementseconomic empowermentjusticewomen's safety
