– The power of words in the service of women's and girls' rights

On April 11, ADHS and Equipop co-organized a public speaking contest on women's rights. The five finalists delivered powerful speeches to the audience, reminding us of today's youth's thirst for engagement. Spotlight on their performances...

Wednesday, April 11, shortly before 7 p.m. The audience continues to stream through the doors of Amphitheater III at the Panthéon center to attend the public speaking competition for women's rights organized by the Sorbonne Human Rights Association (ADHS) and Equipop. Many people have come to applaud our five finalists as they prepare to speak on Simone de Beauvoir's famous quote:

“Never forget that all it takes is a political, economic, or religious crisis for women's rights to be called into question. These rights are never guaranteed. You must remain vigilant throughout your lives.”

The pressure is mounting for our candidates as Alain Marié, President of Equipop, introduces the public speaking competition by emphasizing the importance for Equipop of establishing a closer relationship with young people in France.

The first of our finalists to take the stage, Léonie does not hesitate to question the wording used by the author of Second Sex :

“But "be vigilant"... doesn't that strike you as odd? Being vigilant, well, it seemed to me that one letter was too many. A simple "e" almost nipped any support I might have had for the honorable Castor's statement in the bud. Are women's rights a women's issue to be settled among women? I don't think so. It's a matter of equality. Of equality among all human beings.”

 His performance is enthusiastically received by the audience, who are now ready to applaud our second candidate: Tom. He emphasizes that " women's rights are under threat everywhere, all the time, here and elsewhere," thus highlighting the intersectional nature of the feminist struggle. Like Léonie, he insists that "we are all concerned by women's rights," women and men alike. Another round of applause punctuates the transition from Tom's performance to that of our third candidate, Louise, who reminds us that defending women's rights is nothing more and nothing less than a matter of human rights:

“We must constantly ensure that human rights are respected. Women are human beings. Therefore, we must remain vigilant when it comes to women's rights.”

After Louise, whose speech was greatly appreciated by the audience, it is now Amélie's turn to tackle Simone de Beauvoir's quote. She begins her presentation by recalling the alarming but nonetheless true fact that "No one in this room today can name a country where women's rights are not under threat." Indeed, there is no place in the world today, in either developed or developing countries, where women enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men. This is a reality that all the finalists have brilliantly conveyed, and our last candidate to address the audience was no exception.

Ariane, addressing Simone de Beauvoir directly, emphasizes that threats to women's rights are also present in everyday life, not only in times of crisis, and that we must therefore be wary of "periods of calm". Crises, on the other hand, can bring about advances in women's rights, as was the case during World War II, which led to the extension of voting rights to women. Ariane thus brings this competition to a beautiful conclusion.

While the jury deliberated, members of the Equipop team raised awareness among the audience about gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and the rise of conservatism. The audience award, decided by a vote on Facebook, went to Ariane, while the Best Newcomer award was won by Léonie. Finally, the winner's prize was awarded to Louise, who will have the opportunity to accompany Equipop to the European Development Days in Brussels in early June. We warmly congratulate all the participants in the competition and thank the ADHS, co-organizer of the competition.

We were delighted to see the interest shown by young people in the topic of women's rights, and we hope that this first public speaking competition will mark the beginning of a fruitful relationship between young people eager to get involved and Equipop!

Find the transcripts of the finalists' speeches here.