Profundity On A Page

TW for domestic violence

“This amazing speech by Patrick Stewart is perfect for sharing during October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month. A longtime outspoken advocate for survivors of domestic violence, renowned actor Patrick Stewart gave this touching impromptu speech about his own experience with domestic violence in response to a fan’s question about what non-acting work he’s most proud of. Stewart, who grew up in a home where his mother suffered frequent abuse from his father and has called violence against women the “single greatest human rights violation of our generation,” talked about his work with organizations that support victims of domestic violence, including the UK-based group Refuge Stewart shared: “The work that I do in campaigns about violence towards women, particularly domestic violence, is something that grew out of my own childhood experience. I do what I do in my mother’s name, because I couldn’t help her then. Now I can.” He also added that he recently learned that his father suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to WWII-related combat. After this discovery, he has begun to work with Combat Stress, an organization that helps combat veterans deal with their experiences in a healthy, non-abusive manner. The exchange with the fan was especially touching because she shared that she had also experienced abuse and his speeches on the issue had helped her through her own “personal turmoil.” At the end of his response, Stewart came down from the stage to give her a hug and, as she later shared on her blog, told her “You never have to go through that again, you’re safe now.” To watch the Stewart’s short speech and the moving exchange on YouTube, visit http://bit.ly/1kNqy1h For resources for teens and their parents on how to approach dating in a healthy way and to learn about the signs of relationship abuse and how to get help, check out Loveisrespect, a collaboration of the National Dating Abuse Helpline and Break the Cycle, at http://www.loveisrespect.org” 

Nancy Wake

Lyudmila Pavlichenko

Rukhsana Kausar

The Gulabi Gang

Neerja Bhanot

Zainab Bibi

Susan Walters

Nong Thoom

Juliane Koepcke

25 September, 2015

Bismillah hir Rahman ir Rahim

In the name of God, the most beneficent, the most merciful.

Before I start, may I ask for some quiet – please pay attention to what youth is asking here.

Dear sisters and brothers, world leaders, please look up, because the future generation is raising their voice.

Today, we are 193 young people representing billions more. Each lantern we hold represents the hope we feel for our future because of the commitments you have made to the Global Goals.

In my life, I have experienced terrorism, displacement and denial from education. And these are the tragedies that millions of children are still suffering.

That shocking and heart-breaking photo of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi lying dead on a sea shore. The parents of the girls abducted by Boko Haram, with tears flooding from their eyes. And little children on the Syrian border with no home, no hope, force us to ask: how many more will we see killed, being rejected, neglected, being homeless? How many more?

The world needs a change. It cannot change itself. It is me, it is you, it is all of us who have to bring that change.

Dear world leaders, dear brothers and sisters,

Education is not a privilege. Education is a right. Education is peace.

Promise peace to all children, in Pakistan, in India, in Syria and in every corner of the world. Promise peace and prosperity.

Promise an education to my brave sister Salam and all refugee children, that wars cannot stop them from learning.

Promise my sister Amina that our sisters abducted by Boko Haram will be brought back and that all girls will be able to study in safety.

Promise us that you will keep your commitments and invest in our future. Promise that every child will have the right to safe, free and quality primary and secondary education.

This is the real investment the world needs and what world leaders must do.

I am hopeful that we all, and the United Nations will be united in the goal of education and peace. And that we will make this world not just a better place but the best place to live.

Education is hope. Education is peace.

Thank you.