The big black and pink tour bus was surrounded by students, men and women alike. It was so encouraging to see crowds of people gathering to sign up to the campaign, and then to listen to a very inspiring speech from .........
The HeforShe campaign aims to encourage men to get involved in the fight for gender equality. So many people believe that to be a feminist you must be a woman, but in fact feminism is an issue which affects all of us in our daily lives. For this reason it is essential that we continue to encourage men to join in, because without this vital cooperation from half the population it will be very difficult to change society's attitudes and beliefs.
Furthermore, especially in developing countries, men still have the majority of power and therefore are in some cases the only people able to influence others and make a positive change. Even here in the UK David Cameron only has 7 women in his 22 member cabinet. Admittedly this is a marked improvement on previous cabinets but it still leaves women in a minority such that they make up less than a third of this group. However, although some may argue (perhaps correctly) that we do indeed need the help of men when striving for equality, it is also worth noting that the HeforShe campaign is not about weak women seeking help from their more powerful counterparts, nor about helpless women being saved by men. Instead it focuses on the fact that to achieve equality we need to engage society as a whole, men included, and therefore it is very positive that so many male university students signed up to the campaign yesterday.It is also worth mentioning that HeforShe is very much a global movement, and therefore it often encourages people in developed countries to work to improve the terrible situations many women in poorer countries find themselves in. There is a lot of emphasis placed on the importance of educating young women and girls, which perhaps is the most relevant thing for university students to relate to. In some ways one could argue that by starting at this fundamental foundation of society, education, we can open doors to women and girls, giving them more opportunities in life.
Regardless, HeforShe is an amazing organisation improving women's lives worldwide, and the university tours are certainly a good way to get more people involved.
Written by Lili
Picture credit: Lili
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/29/heforshe-campaign-makes-tour-of-10-university-campuses
http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2015/september/un-women-launches-heforshe-getfree-tour-at-university-of-leicester
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