United Nations ambassadress for gender equality and "Harry Potter" alum Emma Watson has found a kindred spirit in Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. When the actress interviewed Malala about feminism, she was blown away by the answers given by the 18-year-old education activist.
Watson shared the video of their interview on her Facebook page, and she writes, "Today I met Malala. She was giving, utterly graceful, compelling and intelligent. That might sound obvious but I was struck by this even more in person."
"I had initially planned to ask Malala whether or not she was a feminist but then researched to see whether she had used this word to describe herself," she continues. "Having seen that she hadn't, I decided to take the question out before the day of our interview. To my utter shock Malala put the question back into one of her own answers and identified herself. Maybe feminist isn't the easiest word to use... But she did it anyway."
Malala said during their interview that the word feminism is a very tricky one to use, and people have mixed opinions about it. "When I heard it the first time, I heard some negative responses and some positive ones," she said.
"I hesitated in saying am I a feminist or not and then after hearing your speech, when you said 'If not now, when? If not me, who?'" she continued. "I decided that there's no way and there's nothing wrong by calling yourself a feminist, so I am a feminist. And feminism is another word for equality."
Watson cannot rave Malala enough for her insightful answer, and she hopes that other people would adopt and apply the same approach.
"I think this gesture is so emblematic of what Malala and I went on to discuss. I've spoken before on what a controversial word feminism is currently. More recently, I am learning what a factionalised movement it is, too. We are all moving towards the same goal. Let's not make it scary to say you're a feminist. I want to make it a welcoming and inclusive movement," she stresses.
