Why Global Citizens Should Care
Empowering women is key to sustainable development. Annie Lennox is reminding her fans they can’t end poverty if women don’t have the same rights as men. You can join us and take action on this issue here

Nineties music legend Annie Lennox just announced in a new video that she wants the world to embrace “global feminism.”

The Grammy and Oscar winner explained to the Associated Press that the term simply means everyone, everywhere, can help women receive equal rights.

“We can be generous and inclusive, and we can use this term like an umbrella term where people stand collectively, shoulder-to-shoulder, and they identify these facts and say, ‘This is not right,’” Lennox said.

“Men, women can say, ‘This is not right.’”

Take Action: The Next World Bank President Must Support Girls and Women

The singer and activist teamed up with Apple Music to release the promo Thursday ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8. Notable artists, including Mary J. Blige, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and Hozier, make cameos in the video that retraces the course of women’s rights throughout the past century. 

Lennox is calling on western countries to lift up the developing world, where many young girls can’t attend school because they live in poverty. Almost a quarter of young women aged 15 to 24 today (116 million total) in developing countries have never completed primary school and so lack skills for work, according to UNESCO. 

Read More: Annie Lennox, Michael Moore Join Global Leaders for a Night of Art & Advocacy

With the video, Lennox also hopes to urge the public to include boys and men in the fight to stop violence against women and girls. One out of every three women worldwide will be physically, sexually or otherwise abused during her lifetime — with rates reaching 70% in some countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) found

Lennox’s collaboration with Apple Music is part of her long dedication to achieving gender equality –– she founded women’s rights organization The Circle back in 2008. In 2017, Lennox won the George Harrison Global Citizen award for demonstrating excellence in music and activism over the course of her career. 

Other woman artists including Cardi B, Pink, and Halsey curated playlists to help Apple Music celebrate International Women’s Day. 

News

Demand Equity

Annie Lennox, Hozier, Ed Sheeran, and More Team Up to Get Everyone on Board With Feminism

By Leah Rodriguez