Emma Watson feted for gender equality campaign

Harry Potter actress Emma Watson has been honoured with a special award for her work campaigning for gender equality.

The British star launched the United Nations' HeForShe campaign last summer (14) and won a slew of praise for her candid speech at the organisation's headquarters in New York.

Watson has now been honoured with the Observer Campaigner of the Year Award from bosses of Britain's The Observer newspaper, seeing off competition from other celebrity philanthropists including Leonardo DiCaprio and British rocker-turned-politician Bez.

An article posted on the publication's website states, "It's not often that U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon makes Harry Potter jokes, but after actor Emma Watson's speech at the U.N.'s New York HQ last September, he declared she had waved a magic wand over her audience. The description was surprisingly apt."

Watson later posted on her Twitter.com page, "Thank you... for awarding me Campaigner of the Year! Honoured! I want to share this w (with) every @HeForShe out there #ethicalawards (sic)."