The true definition of girl power! Emma Watson took to her Facebook page to share one of her biggest accomplishments to date. The 25-year-old actress and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador had the chance to sit down and interview 18-year-old Nobel Prize laureate and one of Time Magazine's 30 Most Influential Teens of 2015, Malala Yousafzai on Wednesday at the Into Film Festival in Birmingham, England.
Malala Yousafzai and Emma Watson at the "He Named Malala" premiere Photo: Instagram/@themalalafund
"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," Emma said in her Facebook post. "There are lots of NGOs out there in the world doing great things... But if there were one I would put my money on to succeed and make change on this planet, it would be hers. (The Malala Fund)."
Emma and Malala chatted at the screening of He Named Me Malala, the documentary that chronicles the teens journey from the 15-year-old student who was shot by the Taliban in her native of Pakistan for speaking out against women's education, to the Nobel Prize winning author and founder of The Malala Fund, which provides schools and education for girls across the globe.
The duo, who were equally star struck over each other, also talked about the importance of feminism, in which Malala shared how it was Emma who taught her to embrace the word. “This word, feminism, it has been a very tricky word,” Malala said during their chat. "When I heard it the first time, I heard some negative responses and some positive ones. I hesitated in saying am I feminist or not. After hearing your speech, when you said, ‘If not now, when? If not me, who?’ I decided there’s no way, and there’s nothing wrong with calling yourself a feminist. I am a feminist and you’re truly feminist, because feminism is another word for equality.”
Emma was notably excited when Malala brought up the word during the interview as she initially wasn't going to bring it up in their conversation. "To my utter shock Malala put the question back into one of her own answers and identified herself," the Harry Potter star explained. "Maybe feminist isn't the easiest word to use... But she did it ANYWAY. You can probably see in the interview how I felt about this."
Beyonce, Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Campbell, Alicia Keys and Ellen DeGeneres have all showed their support and noted the impact Malala has made with her fund and her quest for global education for girls all around the world.
CLICK BELOW TO WATCH EMMA AND MALALA'S CONVERSATION
Into Film Festival opening Q&AToday 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. There are lots of NGOs out there in the world doing great things... But if there were one I would put my money on to succeed and make change on this planet, it would be hers. (The Malala Fund). Malala isn't messing around or mincing her words (one of the many reasons I love her). She has the strength of her convictions coupled with the kind of determination I rarely encounter... And it doesn't seem to have been diminished by the success she has already had. And lastly…She has a sense of peace around her. I leave this for last because it is perhaps the most important. Maybe as a result of what she has been through? I personally think it is just who she is…Perhaps the most moving moment of today for me was when Malala addressed the issue of feminism. To give you some background, 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. 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. You can probably see in the interview how I felt about this. She also gave me time at the end of the Q&A to speak about some of my own work, which she most certainly didn't need to do, I was there to interview her. 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 factionalized 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. Let's join our hands and move together so we can make real change. Malala and I are pretty serious about it but we need you. With love, Emma x#HeNamedMeMalala #notjustamovieamovement Malala Fund Into Film
Posted by Emma Watson on Wednesday, November 4, 2015
