Angelina Jolie shared a message through an opinion column for Time magazine. In the powerful message dedicated to women, she revealed that two of her daughters underwent surgeries in recent months. Along with Brad Pitt are parents of 18-year-old Maddox, 16-year-old Pax, 15-year-old Zahara, 13-year-old Shiloh and twins Vivienne and 11-year-old Knox.” I spent the last two months in and out of surgeries with my eldest daughter. Days ago I saw her younger sister go through the operating room for hip surgery,” the protagonist of Maleficent wrote, adding that they were the ones who “encouraged” her to write this note on such an important day for women around the world.
“These days I have seen my daughters take care of each other. The youngest learned everything the nurses did with her sister so she could do it. I have also seen all my children put their lives in the background and made their sisters their priority. I have seen the joy they felt in serving their loved ones,” he continued in the note published in Time magazine entitled “Why Girls Deserve Love and Respect on International Women’s Day.” In the message, he remarked: “I have seen them face their fears with determined courage. We all know what it’s like when we know that no one else can help us and when all we can do is close our eyes and breathe. The moment when we can only take the next step if we accept that pain, which is when we stabilize and do it.”
“That tenderness of the girls, their openness and instinct to care for and help others, must be appreciated and not abused. Much more must be done to protect them in all societies: not only against the extreme ways in which girls’ rights are often violated, but also against the more subtle injustices and attitudes that often go unnoticed or excused,” she said. On the end, he stressed: “My wish on this day is that we value girls. Let’s take care of them. And know that the stronger they grow, the healthier they will be and the more they will contribute to their family and community. Fight a lot, ladies. We will take care of each other in much of the way forward. Know your rights. And never let anyone tell you that they are not precious, special and, above all, equal.” To read Angelina Jolie’s original column for Time, click here.
