These actresses made a huge political statement with their BAFTA dates

And it was very empowering…

The 2018 BAFTAs took place last night, and following on from the Golden Globes and the Grammy’s, the ceremony served as a platform for political protest - this year calling out the mistreatment of women.

The past few months have been consumed by a shocking wave of sexual harassment and assault allegations against Hollywood heavyweights, prompted by the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment allegations, seeing over 50 women come forward with claims of harassment and in some cases rape against the 65-year-old.

In light of the revelations, A-list women have united throughout award season, creating the Time’s Up movement to ‘address the systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace that have kept underrepresented groups from reaching their full potential.’

An overwhelming number of women have taken part in the ‘blackout’, wearing head to toe black on the red carpet to protest the mistreatment of women, with some donning Time’s Up pins. Some A-list actresses even took it a step further at the BAFTAs last night, making a political statement with their choice of BAFTA dates.

In a push to highlight gender inequality, actresses brought inspirational female activists with them as their plus ones rather than their partners - and it was very empowering.

Acclaimed actresses from Naomie Harris to Gemma Chan took part in the political statement, with Andrea Riseborough walking the red carpet with the co-founder of UK Black Pride, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Gemma Arterton attending with Eileen Pullen and Gwen Davis, two of the former sewing machine operators who staged a three week walk-out from Ford Dagenham’s plant.

A similar statement was made at this year’s Golden Globes when actresses Emma Watson, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Williams among others brought inspirational activists as their dates.

Issuing a joint statement, the activists announced that they planned to use their appearance to bring attention to the cause and to change the focus from the abusers to the survivors.

‘We believe we are nearing a tipping point in transforming the culture of violence in the countries where we live and work,’ they announced. ‘It’s a moment to transform both the written and unwritten rules that devalue the lives and experiences of women.’