Angelina Jolie's Rousing Feminist Speech For Women In South Africa

On June 11, Angelina Jolie spoke in her role as special envoy to UNHCR at the biannual African Union Summit in Johannesburg. The theme of this year’s summit was the ‘Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development’.

There is a global epidemic of violence against women - both within conflict zones and within societies at peace — and it is still treated as a lesser crime and lower priority.

Women and girls are bearing the brunt of extremists that revel in treating them barbarically. This is inextricably linked to our overall failure to prevent and end conflicts worldwide, which is causing human suffering on an unprecedented level.

Jolie rounded off her speech with an insistance on policies for women that are designed by women, not at the expense of men but alongside them. Her words echoed the He for She campaign, launched by UN Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson in September 2014.