Emma Watson Photo: IC

British actress Emma Watson's plea for men to join the fight for equal rights for women has sparked a flood of pledges across the world, including from fellow celebrities and politicians.

Watson, 24, who rose to fame as Hermione in the Harry Potter movies, gave her first major speech as a United Nations Women's Goodwill Ambassador in New York on Saturday, launching the "HeForShe" campaign to unite men and women for gender equality.

The initiative urges men to join the fight against violence and discrimination of women and by 1600 GMT on Tuesday, more than 70,000 men and boys had signed online pledges, according to the HeForShe online active map on the campaign's website.

The target is to mobilize 1 billion men and boys over 12 months with an online map showing exactly where people sign up.

"I hope we can all finally change laws and mentalities in order to establish what is nothing more than common sense," Watson tweeted on Tuesday.

British actor Simon Pegg, known recently for playing Scotty in the Star Trek movies, tweeted: "Husband to a wife, father to a daughter, son to a mother. You bet I'm on board."

Organizers credited Watson's powerful speech for having such an impact and driving up numbers signing to the campaign.

"We are all very humbled by the numbers. I have to point out that Emma has been a very instrumental part ... her speech was so powerful," Elizabeth Nyamayaro, senior advisor to UN Women's executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Reuters