Beijing, 1995: I was there
Twenty years ago, representatives from 189 nations gathered in Beijing, China, for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. I was a member of the United States delegation, alongside First Lady Hillary Clinton.
A global gathering to discuss issues that affect women and girls was a radical idea at the time. Our very attendance was controversial. Many U.S. government officials, including some at the White House, didn’t want Hillary to travel to Beijing. The Chinese government was hesitant, too. But Hillary was undaunted — she wanted to be there.
As Hillary and I rode over to the site the morning of her speech to the general assembly, we talked about the conference and how excited she was to be part of it. I couldn’t have known then that what she would say that day would echo around the world for decades to come.
When we arrived, the main hall was electric with anticipation and overflowing with people who wanted to hear the first lady of the United States speak. As Hillary began her remarks, it was clear she was not going to shy away from talking about the abusive treatment of women around the world. When she came to that now-historic line — “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all” — the hall erupted. In a single sentence, she had captured all the reasons we were gathered in Beijing.
I knew we were watching history being made. The women in the room were standing and clapping and hugging one another. And after the speech, delegates from around the world came up to thank me, simply because I represented the United States. Some reached out to touch my arm, as if the magic of America would rub off on them.
Twenty years later, Hillary’s words are still forceful, powerful, and important. And that’s because it was a speech from the heart. Hillary spoke with conviction, and her passion and commitment to addressing these issues — to shining a bright light on centuries of abuse toward women. It was genuine, it rang true and that’s why it continues to be so powerful.
She didn’t shirk from exposing deplorable practices, whether it was forced sterilization or dowry deaths. Her courage to speak out — to speak the truth — gave millions of women a voice to confront leaders in their own countries. One speech elevated women’s rights onto the international political arena at the highest levels of government around the world.
At the conference, we had spent days developing a global platform that would frame a women’s agenda for the international community. “Women’s rights are human rights” was included in the Beijing Platform for Action, unanimously adopted by 189 countries — an amazing accomplishment and a galvanizing first step.
As Secretary of State, Hillary worked to elevate the status of women and girls and strengthen the economic role they play in their communities and countries. In 2010, I sat beside her once again as she gathered the leaders of the Asia Pacific region who pledged to adopt a five-year action plan to broaden economic and educational opportunities for women. And as President, I know she will continue to fight for more opportunities for women and girls in the United States and around the world.
That’s who Hillary is: a lifelong fighter for women’s rights. She has spent her career championing the causes I care about as a woman and a child of immigrants. Now I am grateful I can be a champion of hers.
