Reformist Hillary Clinton: Pioneering Women's Rights Revolution
Reformist Clinton: Pioneering Women’s Rights Revolution
In September 1995, then-First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton delivered a riveting speech on Women’s Rights before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. She hosted delegates around the world, creating a Platform of Action to achieve greater equality and opportunity for women. This immensely assertive speech stood out amongst others in that period as it was hosted by a prominent female leader in the ‘capital of a brutal communist regime, commonly known for neglecting assaults on women’s rights, such as female infanticide and forced abortions.1 This speech was a bold step on Clinton’s part as this period was one where China-US relations were shaky.2 Clinton’s …show more content…
Without explicitly mentioning China, Clinton was highly regarded post-1995 for her direct and grave approach to underlining China’s human rights violation, especially referring to Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, where the Chinese government took force against student protestors, snatching away their freedom to assemble, organize and debate openly.3 She also plainly states that even ‘today, there are also those who are trying to silence our words’, but the voices of those at the conference ‘must be heard loudly and clearly’, evidently pointing fingers to the Chinese political regiment.4 This direct ‘attack’ more that created a stir within China and governments around the world, it also inspired women to muster similar courage that Clinton displayed, in fighting for their own rights. This conference, that clearly reaffirmed the ‘societal issues must be addressed from a gender perspective’ in order to establish sustainable development, was supported by women around the world, including Gita Sen, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management and a founder of Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN). She explained how in Cairo, women had to scramble and intensively contest for governments to merely …show more content…
"20 Minutes That Changed The World: Hillary Clinton in Beijing." Huffington Post, February 2013.
Graveline, Denise. Famous Speech Friday: Hillary Clinton 's "women 's rights are human rights" speech. Blogger. November 11, 2011. http://eloquentwoman.blogspot.sg/2011/11/famous-speech-friday-hillary-clintons.html (accessed March 26, 2014).
Ross, Robert S. "China 's Foreign Relations After Tiananmen: Challenges for the U.S." The National Bureau of Asian Research, 2014.
Didi, Kirsten T. "THE FEMALE FACTOR Chinese Women’s Progress Stalls on Many Fronts." New York Times, March 6, 2012.
Freeman, Jo. Beijing Report: The Fourth World Conference on Women . http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/jofreeman/womenyear/beijingreport.htm (accessed April 14, 2014).
Sadia, Halima. The Global Women 's Movement & Feminist Perspective in 21st Century. Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Dhaka, Acedemia.edu, 2013.
Speech Notes:
Title: Hillary Clinton: remarks to the U.N. 4th World Conference on Women Plenary Session
Authors: Hillary Rodham
In September 1995, then-First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton delivered a riveting speech on Women’s Rights before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. She hosted delegates around the world, creating a Platform of Action to achieve greater equality and opportunity for women. This immensely assertive speech stood out amongst others in that period as it was hosted by a prominent female leader in the ‘capital of a brutal communist regime, commonly known for neglecting assaults on women’s rights, such as female infanticide and forced abortions.1 This speech was a bold step on Clinton’s part as this period was one where China-US relations were shaky.2 Clinton’s …show more content…
Without explicitly mentioning China, Clinton was highly regarded post-1995 for her direct and grave approach to underlining China’s human rights violation, especially referring to Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, where the Chinese government took force against student protestors, snatching away their freedom to assemble, organize and debate openly.3 She also plainly states that even ‘today, there are also those who are trying to silence our words’, but the voices of those at the conference ‘must be heard loudly and clearly’, evidently pointing fingers to the Chinese political regiment.4 This direct ‘attack’ more that created a stir within China and governments around the world, it also inspired women to muster similar courage that Clinton displayed, in fighting for their own rights. This conference, that clearly reaffirmed the ‘societal issues must be addressed from a gender perspective’ in order to establish sustainable development, was supported by women around the world, including Gita Sen, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management and a founder of Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN). She explained how in Cairo, women had to scramble and intensively contest for governments to merely …show more content…
"20 Minutes That Changed The World: Hillary Clinton in Beijing." Huffington Post, February 2013.
Graveline, Denise. Famous Speech Friday: Hillary Clinton 's "women 's rights are human rights" speech. Blogger. November 11, 2011. http://eloquentwoman.blogspot.sg/2011/11/famous-speech-friday-hillary-clintons.html (accessed March 26, 2014).
Ross, Robert S. "China 's Foreign Relations After Tiananmen: Challenges for the U.S." The National Bureau of Asian Research, 2014.
Didi, Kirsten T. "THE FEMALE FACTOR Chinese Women’s Progress Stalls on Many Fronts." New York Times, March 6, 2012.
Freeman, Jo. Beijing Report: The Fourth World Conference on Women . http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/jofreeman/womenyear/beijingreport.htm (accessed April 14, 2014).
Sadia, Halima. The Global Women 's Movement & Feminist Perspective in 21st Century. Department of Women and Gender Studies, University of Dhaka, Acedemia.edu, 2013.
Speech Notes:
Title: Hillary Clinton: remarks to the U.N. 4th World Conference on Women Plenary Session
Authors: Hillary Rodham