‘Blunt the danger of silence with voices’ — Anne Hathaway

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On Monday (March 10), at the UN Headquarters in New York, Academy Award winner and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Anne Hathaway took to the podium to deliver a clarion call to women’s rights, justice and empowerment.

“We come together today under complicated skies, and yet we celebrate our generations of warriors, who – either by seemingly small individual actions or sweeping government and societal reform – have stayed focused on the true goal of justice for all. For all,” she said.

Marking International Women’s Day, Hathaway did not shy away from the "thorny moment" the world currently faces. Addressing the General Assembly, she acknowledged the jarring disconnect between the idealistic halls of the UN and the "extreme gender violence" defining the reality for millions of women and girls outside its doors.

"It’s hard knowing that this day, which is meant to celebrate women, must yet still be about how unsafe it is to be a woman," Hathaway said, her voice steady but laden with emotion. "Even less safe to be a girl."

The Ambassador invoked the names of survivors who turned personal trauma into global catalysts for change: Giselle Pelicot, Virginia Giuffre, and Malala Yousafzai. She questioned the "tormenting cost of change," noting that societal progress has too often been a reactionary response to horrific violence.

Yet, amidst the "stubborn imbalance of justice," Hathaway issued a resounding "Yes" to the question of whether celebration is still possible. To Hathaway, celebration is not an act of complacency, but a form of defiance.

"We celebrate the courage and power of the women who would not be denied their justice, because they chose action in a world that expects silence," she declared.

Highlighting the tangible impact of activism, she noted that "strong, autonomous, feminist movements" remain the most reliable predictors of government action against violence. She framed the ongoing struggle as a path toward a "peace of future generations," fueled by those who refuse to yield to cynicism.

Hathaway concluded with a poignant metaphor of a "collective candle," urging every person—whether in physical or digital spaces—to blunt the "danger of silence" by uplifting unheard voices. Her final message was one of relentless endurance: celebration does not mean accommodating injustice.

“Friends, our choosing to celebrate today does not signal that we are here to accommodate injustice. No. Our celebration today affirms our determination to outlast it. Don’t make us wait, please,” she said.