Meryl Streep on Hillary Clinton meeting Aun San Suu Kyi, a woman the government of Burma kept in detention for 15 years:
...
Anabella De Leon of Guatemala pointed to Hillary Clinton, who was sitting right in the front row, and said, “I met her and my life changed.”And all weekend long, women from all over the world said the same thing:
“I’m alive because she came to my village, put her arm around me, and had a photograph taken together.”
“I’m alive because she went on our local TV and talked about my work, and now they’re afraid to kill me.”
“I’m alive because she came to my country and she talked to our leaders, because I heard her speak, because I read about her.”
I’m here today because of that, because of those stories.
I didn’t know about this. I never knew any of it. And I think everybody should know. This hidden history Hillary has, the story of her parallel agenda, the shadow diplomacy unheralded, uncelebrated – careful, constant work on behalf of women and girls that she has always conducted alongside everything else a First Lady, a Senator, and now Secretary of State is obliged to do.
And it deserves to be amplified. This willingness to take it, to lead a revolution – and revelation, beginning in Beijing in 1995, when she first raised her voice to say the words you’ve heard many times throughout this conference: “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights.”
When Hillary Clinton stood up in Beijing to speak that truth, her hosts were not the only ones who didn’t necessarily want to hear it. Some of her husband’s advisors also were nervous about the speech, fearful of upsetting relations with China. But she faced down the opposition at home and abroad, and her words continue to hearten women around the world and have reverberated down the decades.
…
She’s just been busy working, doing it, making those words “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” into something every leader in every country now knows is a linchpin of American policy. It’s just so much more than a rhetorical triumph. We’re talking about what happened in the real world, the institutional change that was a result of that stand she took.
…
Now we know that the higher the education and the involvement of women in a culture and economy, the more secure the nation. It’s a metric we use throughout our foreign policy, and in fact, it’s at the core of our development policy. It is a big, important shift in thinking. Horrifying practices like female genital cutting were not at the top of the agenda because they were part of the culture and we didn’t want to be accused of imposing our own cultural values.
But what Hillary Clinton has said over and over again is, “A crime is a crime, and criminal behavior cannot be tolerated.” Everywhere she goes, she meets with the head of state and she meets with the women leaders of grassroots organizations in each country. This goes automatically on her schedule. As you’ve seen, when she went to Burma – our first government trip there in 40 years. She met with its dictator and then she met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the woman he kept under detention for 15 years, the leader of Burma’s pro-democracy movement.
This isn’t just symbolism. It’s how you change the world.
...
When Vera Stremkovskaya, a lawyer and human rights activist from Belarus met Hillary Clinton a few years ago, they took a photograph together. And she said to one of the Secretary’s colleagues, “I want that picture.” And the colleague said, “I will get you that picture as soon as possible.” And Stremkovskaya said, “I need that picture.” And the colleague said, “I promise you.” And Stremkovskaya said, “You don’t understand. That picture will be my bullet-proof vest.”
Never give up. Never, never, never, never, never give up. That is what Hillary Clinton embodies.
Much of Hillary Clinton’s work is largely ignored and overlooked because it focuses on women, something the media chooses not to report on. Women’s equality isn’t sensational or important to the mainstream press. I’m happy Meryl Streep highlighted Hillary’s consistent work on behalf of women, especially her revolutionary work as Secretary of State.
Newsweek:
“Across the world, in diverse and deeply reactionary cultures, Clinton and [Ambassador-at-Large] Verveer have spoken and fought to liberalize attitudes on women’s role in the economy, girls’ schooling, women’s health, domestic violence, issues arising from war and conflict, and myriad other concerns.”
From calling her a “big mouth” to making Monica Lewinsky jokes, China consistently reacts furiously when Hillary Clinton speaks about China’s horrific record on women’s rights.
China first reacted this way when Hillary went to Beijing in 1995 and took China to task for their human rights abuses against women. Meryl Streep references this speech in her speech.
A must-watch for those that haven’t seen it yet:
Hillary declared:
“If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights and women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.”~Hillary Rodham Clinton
The Chinese government took Hillary’s speech off their airwaves. The First Lady’s speech was censored by the Chinese government.
Hillary has fought for women’s equality her entire career:
As for gay rights, Hillary Clinton worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign over the years on a variety of issues. Hillary correctly noted she was the first First Lady to march in a gay pride parade.
Here is Hillary marching in a few gay pride parades as Senator of New York:
Hillary fought for stronger hate crime and anti-discrimination laws as New York Senator:
In the U.S. Senate, Hillary championed hate crime legislation, fought for federal non-discrimination legislation to protect LGBT Americans in the workplace, and advocated for an end to restrictions that blocked LGBT Americans from adopting children.
As New York Senator Hillary has worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign, which is why she [and not Bernie] was invited to speak before them:
The applause is deafening.
Hillary enacted lifesaving policies as Secretary of State to save LGBTQ lives around the globe:
As secretary of state, Hillary advanced LGBT rights abroad and enforced stronger anti-discrimination regulations within the State Department, declaring on the global stage that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”
She led the effort to pass the first-ever U.N. Resolution on LGBT Human Rights, launched the Global Equality Fund, ended State Department regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families equal rights, helped implement LGBT-friendly workplace policies, and updated the State Department’s policy so that transgender individuals’ passports reflect their true gender.
Hillary’s Global Equality Fund is revolutionary and groundbreaking.
Hillary’s actions speak for themselves.
