Hugo Micallef, Boxer
“The differences between men and women tend to get ironed out, because when it comes to sport, pain, physical effort, we’re all human beings.”
It’s a real privilege to take on this role of ambassador for the Women’s Rights Committee.
I think it’s always vital to speak out against inequality and discrimination of any kind. But when you’re fortunate enough to be able to reach out to hundreds, or even thousands of people, it becomes a duty.
There’s an insidious violence that I have seen time and again, and my female colleagues are exposed to it on a daily basis.
In my career as a musician and content creator, I’ve met a whole host of incredibly talented creative women, who every day are subjected to psychological bullying in the form of posts and private messages. They get sent unkind, vulgar, sexist, or insulting comments, toxic and constantly designed to treat them differently simply because they are women.
That kind of backward behaviour prevents thousands of women from speaking their mind every day. It leads to a damaging system that harms the mental and physical health and careers of women, who want nothing more than to follow their passion and express themselves freely.
So it’s vital not just to support the victims of those inequalities, but also to expose that behaviour, which is often played down by abusers out of ignorance.
These days, the fight against inequalities is happening both in the real world, and in the intangible world of the internet and social media.