Younger Women

[G4Hillary]

What is Hillarys campaign doing to garner support from younger women. I think this may be a key constituent group that must be targeted with great vigor. So far I have not seen them take advantage of this natural allegiance.

Does anyone know what has been done to reach out to this key demographic group? What needs to be done from now onwards?

This is a very serious issue that I have yet to see Hillary specifically addressing. Some one at the campaign needs to take serious note of this.

Young women are natural allies of Hillary but have yet not been tapped of their full vote potential.

Let us get this together and push the campaign. In order to close the deal we need to corner and absolutely dominate the demographics that are most natural.

[Optixmom]

They ask this very same question in the Newsweek article regarding the invisible women (invisible in respect to those over 50).

It was suggested that in Pennsylvania that Hillary hold a rally of Mothers and Daughters with herself and Chelsea to drive home the closeness of Hillary and Chelsea, and that she is a devoted mother as well as a strong woman.

[G4Hillary]

A mother-daughter event with Chelsea--that's a brilliant idea. They should do many of these. The media will try to black this out, so they need to make it a big event with celebrities. They need to make this happen and do it at least twice. In Philadelphia and Pittsburg. We can landslide the womans vote by at least 70-80%. If this happens the rest of the demographics will start following. There will be a domino effect.

I hope the campaign staff are reading these posts because these are the steps to start taking over this election.

[G4Hillary]

Does anyone else have any other suggestions of how we can reach out to younger women?

I will send our ideas to the Clinton campaign website.

[joeysky18]

I think the key to success might be to separate Obama girls from Obama boys.

"Girl night out with Chelsea" address gender pay gap. Most girls in school don't realize that they will get less pay than their boy classmate. Because in school, your grade reflect your ability in class. there is no gender gap in grade. but in corporate world, there is gender pay gap.

[KYWildcatFan]

I love that idea. That is perfect.

Also, maybe some thing about how Hillary knows what is like to struggle through the battles of rising in the work force being a woman. Give them something they can relate to, something to connect with.

Another way to reach young women is go for the "mom" angle. Hillary is a mom. She knows what it is like to raise a child, young and older. She needs to talk about her concerns for our little ones, our elementary kids, our teens. Talk about the fears we mothers have and how she wants to help relieve stresses that we have. For instance BO voted against legislation forbidding the early release of Child Predators. She needs to use that against him.

She can also relate to them in stating all the advancements she made in Arkansas with the Daycare she helped get under way and all the advancements she helped with the medical needs of children. How she helped greatly improve the education system for our children.

Is it not true that our children are our future? Let her show she cares about our future by taking actions to insure our children a great education, medical insurance, and measurements to try to ensure our children's safety.

She needs to relate womens medical concerns, breast, ovarian, uterus cancer. Men will relate to this also. Every man has a Mom, a Wife, a Sister, or a Daughter they care about.

As we woman go through so many rolls, another issue middle age women face is having to take care of their parents. She has made many successful accomplishments in the area of seniors. Put that out there also.

Woops........sorry. I was suppose to talk about young women voters. Sorry I got carried away.

I think it also important to address the whole youth group. If she address these issues from the stand point of just women I am afraid she'll alienate the male youth group. For instance, when it comes to the issues of our children.......address that as "parents and care givers".

Another idea to get more men involed..........Have a Bill and Chelsea rally. Fathers supporting their daughters choices. Men showing their daughters that the world can be their's.

Hillary is a true sense that woman can be and do everything a man can do. When I was a little girl I never thought about being president, maybe a presidents wife but not president. Hillary is showing all our little girls and older girls they can be president. She's showing that with hard work we woman can do and be anything we want to be!

Tonja

[smharley for Hillary]

Great idea, how about a "mother, daughter" town hall meeting broadcast on the Hallmark channel like she did the night before Super Tuesday 1? Invite just Mothers & Daughters to be in the audience!!

[skc1976]

They ask this very same question in the Newsweek article regarding the invisible women (invisible in respect to those over 50).

It was suggested that in Pennsylvania that Hillary hold a rally of Mothers and Daughters with herself and Chelsea to drive home the closeness of Hillary and Chelsea, and that she is a devoted mother as well as a strong woman.

This is an AMAZING idea!!!! We need to all send this in to the campaign and suggest it. It's a great way to get younger women to listen to Hillary.

And something that could be done for the men could be a "Guys Night Out" with Bill Clinton.

[UNBREAKABLE]

I don't know about this one, we don't want to just appeal to women, we need women and men to pull this out.

[VerusPopulus]

As a young woman myself (sadly too young to vote), I have trouble understanding why other young women support Obama. It makes me question how much my generation is really understanding this election. The media has made a big deal about how young voters are really getting involved in this election. While it is true that the youth vote has really increased in the primaries, I wonder whether the youth are thinking about who they are voting for. I've talked with some young Obama supporters, and many of them are hard-pressed to name key issues. All they can say is that they like his message of "hope" and "change." Instead, they seem to be voting because it's now the "cool" thing to do. It is viewed as "cool" to support Obama. I'm worried that when the election is over and all the fervor has died down, young people will abandon this latest fad of political involvement. It is a conundrum for the Clinton campaign: to go after the emotional side of the young vote and sink to the Obama level? or to continue running on substance and real issues?
I guess this didn't really answer the question... I sort of wandered off topic.
Alicia

[Optixmom]

As much as I know that Senator Clinton has to appeal to every voting group, a Mother/Daughter rally is a way at connecting to the greater voting constituency. You could have a generational rally grandmother/mother/daughter.

This is to show the softer/feminine side of Senator Clinton, while at the same time reinforcing her strength.

[hobbitt]

Does anyone else have any other suggestions of how we can reach out to younger women?




My wife says that younger women, well, I cannot tell you exactly what she says in a public forum. But in general, women under 30 have no idea what went before and no idea what they are about to run into.

Women starting out in business get equal starting salaries (thanks to several generations of women who "went before."). They were accepted at college based on accomplishments. They had sports, and even sports scholarships in college, thanks to Title IX.

And they think quite happily that this will go on forever.

They do the eye roll thing whenever my wife mentions anything about discrimination and all swear hotly that they are not one of Those Feminists.

Wife says that the only thing which convinces them that there is still gender discrimination out there, is when they run smack up against it. Which will inevitably happen. In the meantime they are all "Team Players' who laugh at those silly women who complain.

I'm thinking that the Clinton campaign should reach out to current sports stars - women in soccer, in basketball, US Olympic athletes (notice how, with all the athletes who took performance improving drugs and then of course lied about it, Marion Jones is the only one in jail) who do have a sense of history, who do have an idea of what life was like before Title IX.

Especially the US Olympic Soccer Team, winners of the Olympics, the Soccer Gold Cup, and who to this day get paid less than the US Mens Soccer Team, who usually never get past the first round. And who tried to start pro leagues, twice, but were unable to get TV coverage.

Maybe the Dixie Chicks!

And Leonardo di Caprio.

And Apolo Anton Ono.

[G4Hillary]

So here are your suggestions I was able to understand so far for bringing in the young womens vote:


1. Hillary hold a rally of Mothers and Daughters with herself and Chelsea.

2. Separate Obama girls from Obama boys.
--Hold a "Girls night out with Chelsea" --Address gender pay gap

3. Go for the "mom" angle

4. Relate womens medical concerns:
--breast, ovarian, cervical, uterus cancer
--Crohns Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
Men will relate to this also. Every man has a Mom, a Wife, a Sister, or a Daughter they care about.

5. Make a stronger point: Hillary is showing all our little girls and older girls they can be president.

6. Hold a "mother, daughter" town hall meeting broadcast on the Hallmark channel.

7. Show young women that supporting Hillary is the"cool" thing to do.

8. Hold a generational rally: grandmother/mother/daughter

9. Reach out to current sports stars - women in soccer, in basketball, and US Olympic athletes, who do have a sense of history, who do have an idea of what life was like before Title IX.


In regards to all of you who spoke about the male vote. That is just as important. But we need to dominate the most easiest and natural areas of strengths. Obama should not have won any womens vote with Hillary in the race. Her campaign managers should have done a better job and we should have denounced Oprah. That's water under the bridge now and we need to set our course straight from now on. The younger womens vote is a part of the natural Hillary alliance.

At the same time Obama relies heavily on youth votes. If we can take 50% (young women) away and bring them to their rightful place along side Hillary, Obamas campaign will start crumbling.

Unfortunately this election is a demographics battle. We have the above 40 womans vote, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, Seniors, blue collar working folks, union members, etc.

We need to bring younger women home to support Hillary.

By simply Hillary retaking the younger womens vote, Obamas campaign will start buckling. I believe this will cause a domino affect and mass exodus of his supporters.

[UNBREAKABLE]

As a young woman myself (sadly too young to vote), I have trouble understanding why other young women support Obama. It makes me question how much my generation is really understanding this election. The media has made a big deal about how young voters are really getting involved in this election. While it is true that the youth vote has really increased in the primaries, I wonder whether the youth are thinking about who they are voting for. I've talked with some young Obama supporters, and many of them are hard-pressed to name key issues. All they can say is that they like his message of "hope" and "change." Instead, they seem to be voting because it's now the "cool" thing to do. It is viewed as "cool" to support Obama. I'm worried that when the election is over and all the fervor has died down, young people will abandon this latest fad of political involvement. It is a conundrum for the Clinton campaign: to go after the emotional side of the young vote and sink to the Obama level? or to continue running on substance and real issues?
I guess this didn't really answer the question... I sort of wandered off topic.
Alicia
My friend you have hit the nail on the head, when a Nobama supporter is asked, why are you choosing to vote for Obama, there is no concrete answer, they have no clue, like sheep they are following, without even knowing what they are following. I think the minds on this forum are more aware, than some of the current staff members we have on duty. We should be picking his followers apart, I wish I could show everyone here the slideshow I made regarding Nobama followers. It is priceless

[G4Hillary]

Are there any other suggestion or ideas on how we can bring the girls home. Feel free to keep adding to the list. The campaign might be able to use some or all of our suggestions to bring the girls home.

I will email our lists to the campaign website.

[Viktoriya]

We should include men too. My husband is for Hillary not only because she is best choice, but because he wants our 6 years old daughter to believe that she can be president some day too! There are many good, wise men that support Hillary. They vote for Hillary for their wives, daughters, sisters, and moms.

[SoCal4Hillary]

What is Hillarys campaign doing to garner support from younger women. I think this may be a key constituent group that must be targeted with great vigor. So far I have not seen them take advantage of this natural allegiance.

Does anyone know what has been done to reach out to this key demographic group? What needs to be done from now onwards?As my posts elsewhere in this forum have shown, I've been bemoaning the fact that my own daughter is...*gasp*...an Obama-ite. And so is her husband. :eek: To say that I'm disillusioned and disappointed, well, that's just too much of an understatement. I don't know why they feel disenfranchised by Clinton, although they've made some feeble attempts at explaining it, nor do I understand how they got caught up in the Obama nonsense. But SOMETHING is missing somewhere. It's clear from looking at exit polls and various other data that younger people ARE flocking to Obaminable, which is just such a shame since Hillary certainly has more to offer them. :confused:

[Joe from WI]

Hillary should focus on 3 key issues:

(A) Economy
Economy affects men and women. She should bring home the point that she can make their lives better, and separately she can identify each group's (men, women, old folks, colleage) needs and address them by points or areas.

(B) Health Care
She should drive the issue of health care for everyone. This is crucial and i believe she alone owns the health care initiative in this race.

(C) Improve and Protect peoples' livelihood
She should also emphasize she has and will continue to improve and protect our livelihoods. She has impressive list of actions and records to attest. People see that she has done so much for the community and they will naturaly feel she is READY and ABLE to help us keep our lives together.

Thank you.

[G4Hillary]

I am a Late GenX/Millenial myself and from what I have encountered through my life and around me I would anecdotally say that about 65-70% of the girls that were my peers and younger family members are feminists or extremely eager to see a female president.

If this is true on the ground then Hillary's campaign needs to dominate the Millenial women. I know that in my family and peers, all I have to say is that America has never had a female president AND EVERY younger woman I know figuratively jumps up and gets excited. When you mention that there has never been another woman, that seems to really get them pumped up.

So the Millenials might be different than the Baby Boomers and GenXers but they also seem to have that same monkey on their back: Having no female president in the history of our country. They seem extremely motivated to end this streak. But I think slim shady Obama and the media have been able to play a good con and pull the rug over their heads so far. We must end their con now.

This is my personal observation. I wonder what experience others have had.

Keep your ideas coming. We need to win this war one battle at a time.

First step: Break the youth vote in half. Bring the girls to support the only girl that's running for Prez. Show them that Hillary is the only one that really stands for their long term benefits and needs. Talk some girl pride! I don't think girls want to play second fiddle for another quarter century. Then let's get it together and make history.

What other things can we do to bring in the younger women?

[SantaCruzen]

I wish I could show everyone here the slideshow I made regarding Nobama followers. It is priceless

What format is your slideshow? Are you able to place it on YouTube? Can you give it someone who has YouTube?

[KYWildcatFan]

I think it is important that Hillary relate to the issues that a mother has in raising her children, meaning education, medical needs, protection from predators. I was in no way implying that Hillary act as our mother or anyones mother. But we have many young mothers out there struggling with issues that have not been addressed. Take for instance the poverty stricken mother who lives in area "not so good", she worries about her child's education, medical needs, protection, housing, food, supplementing income to pay for housing and utilities. Young mothers need resources they can pull from, a line of support. From a mom's prospective Hillary can speak on the issues that all care givers have. She vastly improved the education needs in Arkansas and built a day care that has been ranked number one in Arkansas. She has many great accomplishments in that area and I think they need to be addressed so that it shows she does truly care about our youth.

[Optixmom]

Many of the college age women that I meet here in Rochester, NY are very into philanthropy. They build houses for Habitat for Humanity, they fund raise for women's shelters, they get involved for the betterment of their community.

A focus on women's issues at a mother/daughter rally or a generational rally can bring it home the magnitude of issues that plague women as a majority. If you look at the latest census, you will see that the largest group that is living below the poverty level in the United States is single parent families where the woman is head of the household. That is 4.1 million people. These are women who have no access to heath care, no access to childcare, no access to a decent paying job. Poverty is a woman's issue. The young women of today need to see that Senator Clinton is multifaceted in turning around this statistic. She is fighting for Universal Healthcare so that the parents can stay just as healthy as their children. She is fighting to increase the minimum wage so that one job can increase the quality of life, not 2 or 3. She is fighting to create jobs (her Green Collar jobs) that cannot be outsourced and will lead to bright careers, not temporary low paying emergency jobs...high paying career jobs. She is concerned with access to quality childcare for any income level.

Women who shut her out, need to see the bigger picture. Let's take away the fact that she is a woman for a minute, the majority of the legislation that she works so hard to pass in Washington is to improve the quality of life for all, and especially those of the poor...which sadly includes mostly women.

[KYWildcatFan]

Many of the college age women that I meet here in Rochester, NY are very into philanthropy. They build houses for Habitat for Humanity, they fund raise for women's shelters, they get involved for the betterment of their community.

A focus on women's issues at a mother/daughter rally or a generational rally can bring it home the magnitude of issues that plague women as a majority. If you look at the latest census, you will see that the largest group that is living below the poverty level in the United States is single parent families where the woman is head of the household. That is 4.1 million people. These are women who have no access to heath care, no access to childcare, no access to a decent paying job. Poverty is a woman's issue. The young women of today need to see that Senator Clinton is multifaceted in turning around this statistic. She is fighting for Universal Healthcare so that the parents can stay just as healthy as their children. She is fighting to increase the minimum wage so that one job can increase the quality of life, not 2 or 3. She is fighting to create jobs (her Green Collar jobs) that cannot be outsourced and will lead to bright careers, not temporary low paying emergency jobs...high paying career jobs. She is concerned with access to quality childcare for any income level.

Women who shut her out, need to see the bigger picture. Let's take away the fact that she is a woman for a minute, the majority of the legislation that she works so hard to pass in Washington is to improve the quality of life for all, and especially those of the poor...which sadly includes mostly women.

Thank you for helping me stress my point. Many of our poverty level households are single parent (usually woman) families. If she could get that base that would be outstanding. Again I thank you!:)

[CGP]

Important topic.

[Arkansas Hillarized]

As a young woman myself (sadly too young to vote), I have trouble understanding why other young women support Obama. It makes me question how much my generation is really understanding this election. The media has made a big deal about how young voters are really getting involved in this election. While it is true that the youth vote has really increased in the primaries, I wonder whether the youth are thinking about who they are voting for. I've talked with some young Obama supporters, and many of them are hard-pressed to name key issues. All they can say is that they like his message of "hope" and "change." Instead, they seem to be voting because it's now the "cool" thing to do. It is viewed as "cool" to support Obama. I'm worried that when the election is over and all the fervor has died down, young people will abandon this latest fad of political involvement. It is a conundrum for the Clinton campaign: to go after the emotional side of the young vote and sink to the Obama level? or to continue running on substance and real issues?
I guess this didn't really answer the question... I sort of wandered off topic.
Alicia

Good golly.. according to what you said here, you sure have a broad and mature viewpoint. Just how 'young' are you? It's a darned shame you can't vote yet! But keep on with what you're doing. I think the more you (and others like you) get out there and get to picking the Obamazombies' minds apart, they will realize there's nothing there. Keep it up!

[Frances]

I think we might want to focus on preventable health issues, like STD,
and tanning salons causing melanoma, and make up that is loaded with
chemicals, hair chemicals, foods they eat. Make them aware, and how to read
labels, and ask questions, and how to become the "natural woman" or
green woman.

[mooaks]

I personally do not believe that Hillary's campaign is neglecting any vote. When Chelsea speaks before university young people, she draws crowds, but not nearly the crowd that OB does. It's just an undeniable fact, that peer pressure can blind your willingness to listen to your elders. Not in Verus Populus' case. When you are confronted with a rock star, who's rallies are you going to attend?
You know it wouldn't be Perry Como's. I think that Hillary is doing her best to attract the younger voter, but they generally are not listening. I don't believe that a mother, daughter rally will necessarily work, but maybe it should be tried.
Chelsea is probably charismatic, although I have never heard her speak, but I do know that her crowds (and that matters) are not as big as they would like. As a man, I am not opposed to the idea, but am just not sure that bringing your young un by the ear to a Hillary rally is the answer. I have heard many young people talk about Obama's message and what were some of his policy's?

None could answer except to say that he wants to bring hope and change. I think Chelsea, through her talks with many young people, is trying to help her mother by relaying messages from the young people she has talked with as to what the campaign could do to put it on a more competitive footing with OB's as far as young people are concerned.

[Frances]

Could there be a tie in to Green Energy, future jobs, and needs?
Maybe the Green Eyed Women.....print outs of a green eye
and in the center written Hillary! Then promote the differences between
Obama plans and Hillary.

[samkm]

Below, I have some excellent sources. One of them is an endorsement by the highschoolers presumably in Ohio... these young adults have paid attention. Another is teh Veterans' endorsement; let us NEVER forget their devotion (past, present and assured commitment) to the country.

Dare to compete is another good video.

Please share these videos with your daughter.

[samkm]

Ask her to also look at these:

Commencement Address at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville - May 11, 1996 http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/EOP/First_Lady/html/generalspeeches/1996/5-11-96.html

Hillary's Women's Rights speech. The one she gave in Beijing http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/Hillary-Clinton/

Wellesley College speech http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Commencement/1969/053169hillary.html

There is major consistency in her words over the years. She sees people as UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS aspiring to their fullest potential. Therefore, INTEGRITY, TRUST and RESPECT need to guide relations. The message is relatively the same across the three speeches.

[samkm]

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights Famous Speech

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Women are being sexually, emotionally and physically abused every day in this country and around the world. Where is the outrage? If not Hillary, what women will ever be good enough?

Women’s Rights Are Human Rights Famous Speech

by Hillary Clinton
Beijing, China: 5 September 1995

Mrs. Mongella, Under Secretary Kittani, distinguished delegates and guests: 

I would like to thank the Secretary General of the United Nations for inviting me to be part of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. This is truly a celebration - a celebration of the contributions women make in every aspect of life: in the home, on the job, in their communities, as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, learners, workers, citizens and leaders. 

It is also a coming together, much the way women come together every day in every country. 



We come together in fields and in factories. In village markets and supermarkets. In living rooms and board rooms. 



Whether it is while playing with our children in the park, or washing clothes in a river, or taking a break at the office water cooler, we come together and talk about our aspirations and concerns. And time and again, our talk turns to our children and our families. However different we may be, there is far more that unites us than divides us. We share a common future. And we are here to find common ground so that we may help bring new dignity and respect to women and girls all over the world - and in so doing, bring new strength and stability to families as well.

By gathering in Beijing, we are focusing world attention on issues that matter most in the lives of women and their families: access to education, health care, jobs and credit, the chance to enjoy basic legal and human rights and participate fully in the political life of their countries. 

There are some who question the reason for this conference. 



Let them listen to the voices of women in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces. 

There are some who wonder whether the lives of women and girls matter to economic and political progress around the globe. 



Let them look at the women gathered here and at Huairou - the homemakers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, policymakers, and women who run their own businesses. 

It is conferences like this that compel governments and people everywhere to listen, look and face the world’s most pressing problems. 



Wasn’t it after the women’s conference in Nairobi ten years ago that the world focused for the first time on the crisis of domestic violence? 

Earlier today, I participated in a World Health Organization forum, where government officials, NGOs, and individual citizens are working on ways to address the health problems of women and girls. 



Tomorrow, I will attend a gathering of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. There, the discussion will focus on local - and highly successful - programs that give hard-working women access to credit so they can improve their own lives and the lives of their families. 



What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. 



And when families flourish, communities and nations will flourish. 



That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on our planet has a stake in the discussion that takes place here. 



Over the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children and families. Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my own country and around the world. 



I have met new mothers in Jojakarta, Indonesia, who come together regularly in their village to discuss nutrition, family planning, and baby care. 



I have met working parents in Denmark who talk about the comfort they feel in knowing that their children can be cared for in creative, safe, and nurturing after-school centers. 



I have met women in South Africa who helped lead the struggle to end apartheid and are now helping build a new democracy. 



I have met with the leading women of the Western Hemisphere who are working every day to promote literacy and better health care for the children of their countries. 



I have met women in India and Bangladesh who are taking out small loans to buy milk cows, rickshaws, thread and other materials to create a livelihood for themselves and their families. 



I have met doctors and nurses in Belarus and Ukraine who are trying to keep children alive in the aftermath of Chernobyl. 



The great challenge of this Conference is to give voice to women everywhere whose experiences go unnoticed, whose words go unheard. 



Women comprise more than half the world’s population. Women are 70% percent of the world’s poor, and two-thirds of those who are not taught to read and write. 



Women are the primary caretakers for most of the world’s children and elderly. Yet much of the work we do is not valued - not by economists, not by historians, not by popular culture, not by government leaders. 



At this very moment, as we sit here, women around the world are giving birth, raising children, cooking meals, washing clothes, cleaning houses, planting crops, working on assembly lines, running companies, and running countries. 



Women also are dying from diseases that should have been prevented or treated; they are watching their children succumb to malnutrition caused by poverty and economic deprivation; they are being denied the right to go to school by their own fathers and brothers; they are being forced into prostitution, and they are being barred from the bank lending office and banned from the ballot box. 



Those of us who have the opportunity to be here have the responsibility to speak for those who could not. 



As an American, I want to speak up for women in my own country - women who are raising children on the minimum wage, women who can’t afford health care or child care, women whose lives are threatened by violence, including violence in their own homes. 



I want to speak up for mothers who are fighting for good schools, safe neighborhoods, clean air and clean airwaves; for older women, some of them widows, who have raised their families and now find that their skills and life experiences are not valued in the workplace; for women who are working all night as nurses, hotel clerks, and fast food cooks so that they can be at home during the day with their kids; and for women everywhere who simply don’t have time to do everything they are called upon to do each day. 



Speaking to you today, I speak for them, just as each of us speaks for women around the world who are denied the chance to go to school, or see a doctor, or own property, or have a say about the direction of their lives, simply because they are women. The truth is that most women around the world work both inside and outside the home, usually by necessity. 



We need to understand that there is no formula for how women should lead their lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential. 



We also must recognize that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected. 



Our goals for this Conference, to strengthen families and societies by empowering women to take greater control over their own destinies, cannot be fully achieved unless all governments - here and around the world - accept their responsibility to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights. 



The international community has long acknowledged - and recently affirmed at Vienna - that both women and men are entitled to a range of protections and personal freedoms, from the right of personal security to the right to determine freely the number and spacing of the children they bear. 



No one should be forced to remain silent for fear of religious or political persecution, arrest, abuse or torture. 



Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. 



Even in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict. Women and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees. When women are excluded from the political process, they become even more vulnerable to abuse.

I believe that, on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break our silence. It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights. 



These abuses have continued because, for too long, the history of women has been a history of silence. Even today, there are those who are trying to silence our words. 

The voices of this conference and of the women at Huairou must be heard loud and clear: It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls. 



It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution. 



It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small. 



It is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war. 



It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes. 



It is a violation of human rights when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation. 



It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will. 



If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women’s rights - and women’s rights are human rights. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely - and the right to be heard. 



Women must enjoy the right to participate fully in the social and political lives of their countries if we want freedom and democracy to thrive and endure. 



It is indefensible that many women in nongovernmental organizations who wished to participate in this conference have not been able to attend - or have been prohibited from fully taking part. 



Let me be clear. Freedom means the right of people to assemble, organize, and debate openly. It means respecting the views of those who may disagree with the views of their governments. It means not taking citizens away from their loved ones and jailing them, mistreating them, or denying them their freedom or dignity because of the peaceful expression of their ideas and opinions. 



In my country, we recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of women’s suffrage. It took 150 years after the signing of our Declaration of Independence for women to win the right to vote. 



It took 72 years of organized struggle on the part of many courageous women and men. It was one of America’s most divisive philosophical wars. But it was also a bloodless war. Suffrage was achieved without a shot being fired. 



We have also been reminded, in V-1 Day observances last weekend, of the good that comes when men and women join together to combat the forces of tyranny and build a better world.



We have seen peace prevail in most places for a half century. We have avoided another world war. 

But we have not solved older, deeply-rooted problems that continue to diminish the potential of half the world’s population. 



Now it is time to act on behalf of women everywhere. If we take bold steps to better the lives of women, we will be taking bold steps to better the lives of children and families too. 

Families rely on mothers and wives for emotional support and care; families rely on women for labor in the home; and increasingly, families rely on women for income needed to raise healthy children and care for other relatives. 



As long as discrimination and inequities remain so commonplace around the world - as long as girls and women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and subjected to violence in and out of their homes - the potential of the human family to create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized. 



Let this Conference be our - and the world’s - call to action. 



And let us heed the call so that we can create a world in which every woman is treated with respect and dignity, every boy and girl is loved and cared for equally, and every family has the hope of a strong and stable future. 



Thank you very much. 

God’s blessings on you, your work and all who will benefit from it.


New York Times: Hillary Clinton in Beijing as Women’s Conference Opens

“Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived early today to a Chinese capital under tight security for the Fourth World Conference on Women, the largest ever gathering of its kind. . .

Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan cut to the core of the issues when she addressed the opening session of the conference on Monday, raising her voice against violence directed at women. …

“Women hold up half of the sky in human society,” Mr. Jiang said, using a Chinese metaphor. But “over a long period of time,” prejudice against women “like an invisible chain, fettered the hearts and mind of millions.”. . .

Of 1.3 billion people living in absolute poverty in the world, 70 percent are women. For many of them, the importance of this conference, the most ambitious of its kind since the first such meeting dedicated to women was held in Mexico City in 1975, is that it will again take up the issue that has sundered the national politics of many nations of the world: the reproductive rights of women and the issue of abortion. “

HILLARY CLINTON, IN CHINA, DETAILS ABUSE OF WOMEN

“Speaking more forcefully on human rights than any American dignitary has on Chinese soil, Hillary Rodham Clinton catalogued a devastating litany of abuse that has afflicted women around the world today and criticized China for seeking to limit free and open discussion of women’s issues here.

Mrs. Clinton’s gravity and directness seemed to please both Democratic and Republican members of the United States delegation here, and thus the speech may trump the political disputes that have plagued both Mrs. Clinton’s decision to travel here and the Administration’s approach to China.

As Mrs. Clinton recited her litany from the podium, many delegates applauded, some cheered and others pounded the tables.

“She talked so eloquently about human rights, and I thought it was very effective, because all of the women here will know that the wife of the President of the United States also thinks about these things,” said Maria Kamm, a delegate from Tanzania and member of Parliament there.”

[samkm]

AWESOME!

"Damn, I Wish You Were President"

YouTube - To Hillary Clinton from Sophie B. Hawkins

Uploaded to YouTbue: Feb 1, 2008

Sophie B. Hawkins MySpace Page (features Hillary!): http://www.myspace.com/sophiebhawkins

[Robin Orlowski]

I am a young woman (under 35) who supports Hillary. I get so angry when they say that 'young people support Obama'---as if we all have gotten behind a bigoted airhead :mad:

We need to publicize how Hillary was a grassroots activist. And how they are being one in their own communities when focusing on personal issues as a way of making that change.

It is so much more powerful as an outreach tool.

In college, my friends and I did the typical 'signing petititions for national groups'. But we also had to fight administrators who were not well-educated about the ADA. They were trying to remove us from the campus because of our disabilities.

Our self-constructed campaign to remain enrolled and get our degrees took much more work than a 'national campaign', but we ended up with a VERY powerful feeling of accomplishment when we did succeed with ALL our goals.

We succeeded only because we had specific objectives we wanted to accomplish and weren't vaugely talking about making change. The administration could not write us off as 'angry kids'.

And that campus is now permanently improved for every other student with disabilities who came after us. Plus the administrator was fired and her position permanently deleted from the bureacratic chart!

I've told the story to a couple of Obama supporters and they appeared actually impressed. I guess they had assumed activism was only acchieved through flashy graphics and lots of money.