DUBAI: British Lebanese human rights lawyer and activist Amal Clooney this week gave an inspiring speech at the 16th awards ceremony for the Cartier Women’s Initiative where she was named the inaugural contributor of Cartier Voices — a community of individuals contributing to cultural, philanthropic, environmental and social initiatives.
The collective is a continuation of past charitable initiatives by Cartier and represents their commitment to humanitarian efforts, according to the luxury fashion house.
At the event, which took place in Paris, Clooney highlighted the need to advance women’s rights.
“Whether you believe in human rights, or just prosperity, it is a good idea to try to unshackle half the population of the world,” she said. “The latest data shows that women’s economic parity would add $12 trillion to the global economy. Yet the percentage of philanthropic grants that go to women’s empowerment is in the single digits. And women’s rights in places as diverse as Afghanistan and the US have been in retreat in recent years.
“My goal is equal justice for all and my philosophy is that justice must be waged. Because justice is not inevitable: it doesn’t just happen on its own,” she added. “We have to fight for it; to gather our forces, forge alliances, prepare a strategy and be determined to do whatever it takes. For me, waging justice means trying to change the system — one case at a time.”
Clooney also spoke about the empowering nature of her own career, including fighting human rights violations.
