Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Care2 Petition for International Women’s Day Surpasses Its Goal

With Wednesday, March 8 being International Women’s Day — a global call to action celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women — Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau marked that occasion with a Care2 petition that asks fathers around the globe to unite and empower women by promoting literacy and education.

Seems an ironic stretch that the portrayor of the dishonorable warrior Jaime Lannister — who began Game of Thrones shoving the young Bran Stark out of a window — should be at the forefront of this empowering pledge. But Coster-Waldau is just playing a character on television. His real life role as goodwill ambassador to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with two teen-aged daughters of his own – Saffina (13) and Philippa (16) — was the impetus behind getting over 20,000 supporters for his petition.

In the Care2 petition Nikolaj Coster-Waldau wrote, “I’ve always been passionate about issues that really matter to me as a husband and father, like making this planet a clean, safe and prosperous place for my daughters to grow up in. But my daughters and their friends are the fortunate ones. We can’t forget the countless girls and women who live in poverty and whose odds are stacked against them; whose futures seem to hold no hope. Half a billion women around the world still cannot read, 62 million girls are denied the right to education, and 155 countries still have laws that discriminate against women. It’s our collective responsibility to give them hope. I have teamed up with UNDP to fight for gender equality because when we empower women to take control of their lives and their futures, everyone benefits: More children go to school, families are healthier and incomes increase.”

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau made a plea for the futures of all daughters around the world.

“All daughters, everywhere deserve a chance to succeed in life,” he urged. “When we teach our own daughters to take charge of their lives, let’s also remember those who don’t have the same opportunities. We can help end inequality for all women and girls by:

• Reminding our daughters regularly that they can achieve absolutely everything in life.
• Empowering our daughters to be leaders and to give voice to those who are less fortunate and forgotten.
• Speaking out against child marriage and forced marriage.
• Supporting policies and legislation that combat violence against women all over the world.”

Thousands of signatures poured in from all around the world in support of Coster-Waldau’s plea, including one father from Florida.

“Love in all it’s wonderful forms that are possible,” the father from Florida wrote on the petition. “I am so thankful for having been blessed with two daughters. Knowing and supporting an encouraging attitude and providing respect and admiration for who and what they are provides the foundation. Add to that life’s empowerments (sic) to do more and that is now I feel, from the mountains, to the oceans to the shore.”