Emma Watson Encourages Women to Vote in US Election
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you will know that the tiny matter of the American Presidential election is taking place on Tuesday, November 8. With less than two weeks left until US citizens cast their votes to determine who will become the next President of the United States, Emma Watson is speaking out to encourage the women of America to head to the polls and exercise their right to vote.
Taking to Twitter, the actress and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador called upon her American fans to put aside beliefs that politics may seem disillusioning and full of smokescreens, and remember that the election “will have ripple effects around the world and impact, in one way or another, the lives of millions and millions of people.”
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) October 25, 2016
She writes,
America is my second home. It has been excruciating to sit on the sidelines in the months leading up to this election. Goodness, I wish I could cast a vote.
Watson goes on to say that the next president will be able to make decisions on women’s bodies, their rights, how they’re treated in the workplace and in education, and men’s views about womanhood.
These decisions affect how young people form their ideas of gender. These decisions will affect whether we believe equality is an idea that matters.
In concluding her open letter to American women, the actress quoted South African social rights activist Desmond Tutu, writing,
Men and boys, we show our manhood by how we treat our women.
She also provided some voting statistics from the previous US election and further emphasized the importance of voting.
In the last US election, 70 million women cast ballots versus 60 million men. Women, your vote could swing this election. Please go out and vote on the 8th of November. Read up on both sides of your state propositions (if you have any).
You have real power to decide the future of generations to come.
Did Emma’s words strike a chord with you? Are you planning on voting on November 8? Let us know your thoughts below.
