Emma Watson Converses with Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dr. Denis Mukwege

by · August 19, 2019

Beyond her work as an actress, Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) has established herself as an activist for women’s rights, including as a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women. In May, Emma was hosted in conversation alongside Dr. Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist and winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in helping women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have survived sexual violence.

The conversation, in which Emma and Dr. Mukwege discussed “[Mukwege’s] work and his philanthropy, and [explored] what we can all do to bring about a safer, fairer future for women and girls,” was held on May 15 in London and hosted by How To Academy and the New York Times.

When Emma asked Dr. Mukwege about how he had dealt with the realization that someone had intentionally inflicted the kinds of violence that he had seen in his patients as a tactic of war, Mukwege explained that listening to the survivors became very important to him.

Yeah, at the beginning, I took my time to talk with victims and discuss with them. It was not only because I would like to know what happened, but most of the time, even for victims, it was very important to get someone who can listen to them, who can support them, and you can’t support if you don’t listen to what they’re telling you.

At the end of their conversation, Dr. Mukwege thanked Emma for her activism and expressed his hope that she might come to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo someday to meet with some of the patients he has treated there.

I want really to thank you for what you are doing. I know how you are committed [to] women around the world, and what you are doing is so inspiring, and I hope that if, really, you can bring more young women, as you [are], to fight for the rights of others as you are doing, I think that you can make, really, a big change [in] our world, and I hope that maybe one day you will come to Congo and just talk to [the] women of Congo. I think that this will make a big difference for us. Thank you a lot for what you are doing.

Emma has now posted the entirety of her conversation with Dr. Mukwege on her IGTV, which she also announced on her Twitter account.

 

 

The full video, over an hour in length, is also available on YouTube from How To Academy and can be viewed below. Note that, due to the nature of Dr. Mukwege’s work with survivors of sexual violence in war, viewer discretion is advised.

 

 

You can learn more about Dr. Denis Mukwege’s work on the official website of the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation.