APPLE BACKS #GLOBALFEMINISM

Ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday, Annie Lennox and Apple Music have enlisted the help of a team of musicians—Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Emeli Sande, Hozier and Mary J Blige among them—for a campaign highlighting injustices faced by women around the world.

The short film, created by digital exec Sammy Andrews and her team at Deviate Digital, highlights the progression of women’s rights in some parts of the world, and the work that’s still to be done to achieve equality globally. Other names you'll see in the video include Richard E Grant, Richa Chadha, Eddie Izzard, Gwendoline Christie and Beverley Knight.

"Disempowerment creates an appalling way of life for millions of women and girls around the world,” Lennox said. “While physical or sexual violence affects one in three women, and two thirds of the world’s 757m adults who cannot read or write are women … these are only two on a long list of disparity and injustice. We cannot ignore the fact that feminism must have a global reach.

"At a time when there seems to be so much polarity and division in the world, the term 'global feminism' offers an opportunity for people from every walk of life, colour of skin, gender or sexual orientation to understand and identify with the bigger global picture. We need to stand shoulder to shoulder in support of human rights, justice and equality for women and girls everywhere in the world, especially in countries where they are not even near the lowest rung of the ladder."