UN Women is a global group of women and girls dedicated to the empowerment of women and gender equality. In recent years, celebrities, especially women, have become more interested in or involved in helping the world in various ways. Because of this, the UN has created a group of women who are willing to use their names, talents, and platforms to help this cause.
Focusing specifically on five of the UN Women’s goodwill ambassadors, you might be surprised at some of the celebrities who have volunteered for these positions.Â
Danai Gurira
Danai Gurira is described as a proud Zimbabwean child and an award-winning playwright and actor. Most of us may recognize her from her role as General Okoye in Black Panther, her appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, or even her role as Michonne in The Walking Dead.
In addition to portraying powerful roles, she incorporates the same mindset into her work outside the TV and movie sets. Her mission among this group of females is to focus on women and girls not just in the United States but around the globe.
She created Love Our Girls, which is specific to young women in difficult or unfortunate situations. She is also the co-founder of Almasi Arts, an organization that gives access and opportunity to African dramatic artists. Most recently, she took a stand, speaking to the UN Security Council about addressing conflict-related sexual violence through demilitarization and arms control.
Anne Hathaway
Many know her as an actress with iconic roles in movies like The Devil Wears Prada, The Princess Diaries, and Ella Enchanted. She is also commonly known as one of the celebrities passionate about charitable events, evident from her involvement in foundations like The Girl Effect, World of Children, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Hathaway added UN Women Goodwill Ambassador to the list, for she is self-described as a “long-standing supporter of girls and women’s rights.” She advocates for a show previously on CNN titled Girl Rising, which followed seven girls worldwide in their efforts to show the true power of female education.
As one can see, she loves to spread awareness and support women in every way, but her ultimate goal is to raise awareness on the issues of unaffordable childcare services and the unequal burden of care work in the home.
Hathaway stands strong with UN Women, supporting their 2024 International Women’s Day rally title, “Invest in women, accelerate progress.”
Nicole Kidman
Actress, singer, fashion model, and humanitarian Nicole Kidman was appointed Goodwill Ambassador in January 2006. She has been a long-time member of UN Women, dedicated to spreading awareness about violence against women, which affects relatively one in three females, according to the United Nations.
Becoming the spokesperson for the UN’s “Say No—United to End Violence against Women” has solidified her dedication to not only the UN but also women around the world. After meeting women who have overcome extremely large obstacles, Kidman comments that “these women embody resilience, strength, dignity—and hope.”
As stated by United Nations Women headquarters, in the last year, she has been focusing on ways to end female poverty and emphasizing the struggles women face due to the men in their world being on active duty. This regards females across the world and their need for mainly financial support to take care of their family without having someone to help out after the men in their lives are sent to war.
Marta vieira da silva
In July 2018, the world-renowned Brazilian soccer player was appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for women and girls in sports.
According to UN Women, she is known to be one of the best female soccer players of all time worldwide. Having her as an ambassador allows young girls in sports and people in the Brazilian community to feel seen. She wants girls to see and use her accomplishments to fuel their drive toward their dreams and goals.
Regarding her humanitarian efforts, she spends most of her extra time in Brazil promoting “One Win Leads to Another.” Through this movement, she provides weekly practice and life skills training for communities across Brazil. Since 2020, Silva has been seemingly less active in her humanitarian efforts, with little evidence of activism potentially due to her forward position on the Orlando Pride soccer team.
Emma Watson
Emma Watson is likely best known for her role as Hermione in the Harry Potter series. However, she’s also played many other roles, including Meg March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women or Sam from Perks of Being a Wallflower. She was awarded the Emerging Star Award at ELLE Women in Hollywood, the Trailblazer Award at the MTV Movie Awards, and the GQ Woman of the Year Award in 2013. At an impressively young age, she has made strides that some people never get to accomplish.
Her primary focus since becoming an ambassador in July 2014 has been the “HeForShe” campaign that destigmatizes how people view feminism. This is shown when, in 2014, she gave a speech promoting the campaign and has continued to promote it through various social media platforms as well as speeches across the globe. She points out that feminism is about the idea that anyone who believes in gender equality is considered a feminist, whether they are men or women. Her speech was powerful, inspiring, and definitely something to be listened to by all genders.
Along with this campaign, she promotes girls’ education by visiting schools in countries like Bangladesh and Zambia.
conclusion
This group of influential personalities from art, music, film, literature, and sports have come together to highlight and promote issues directly affecting women. Although some people have unfavorable things to say about celebrities, it is important to note that these women have used their platforms to do some active good.