Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a reunion at Georgetown University of the United States Delegation to the 1995 UN Women’s Conference; Secretary Clinton was the Chair of the delegation. Fistula Foundation CEO, Kate Grant, who was member of the delegation, attended the event, held February 26th.
The conference was the last United Nations Meeting dedicated to developing a global agenda to advance women’s rights. It became a historic event in large part due to a courageous speech by then First Lady Clinton in which she declared, “Women’s rights are human rights and human rights are women’s rights,” a phrase that became the battle cry of a global movement.
In a piece for The Huffington Post celebrating Secretary Clinton’s retirement from the State Department last year, Ms. Grant recalled the event, “As Clinton left the stage, the American delegation, where I was seated, overflowed with exuberant pride. There were high-fives. There were tears. There were hugs. I looked out over the audience with delegates representing virtually every nation on earth to hear a thunderous applause and watch many delegates taking to their feet, a sea of women and men giving Hillary one big ‘you go, girl.’ I wished I had an American flag to drape on my shoulders when I walked out of that room.”
This article originally appeared in Fistula Foundation’s Spring 2014 newsletter. Click here to view a PDF of the entire newsletter.
Published April 12, 2014