Hillary: Inspiring change and cracking glass ceilings for women everywhere
Hillary has been fighting for me since before I was born. In 1995, as First Lady, Hillary stood in a conference room during the United Nations’ Fourth World Congress on Women and, ignoring the outcry against her visit to China, boldly declared, “Humans rights are women’s rights, and women’s are human rights once and for all!” She spoke for the voiceless, for those who feared standing against that which is wrong. She has done this her whole life, and she will continue to do it as president.
When people ask me why I support Hillary, the list is vast. While I support her proposed domestic polices, what resonates for me is her view of the world outside of the United States — a view that I fear is lacking in American politics today. Hillary speaks the language of the world. When she declared women’s rights to be human rights in 1995, it was for women everywhere: women paid less than men, women killed because of their gender, women sold or abused, women denied a vote, and women denied basic human rights. Boldly, she declared them the norm. So, even before I set foot on this Earth, I have Hillary to thank for setting a path for me, and those like me, to follow. And while she brings inspiration to women here in America, perhaps the deepest impact I’ve seen her have has been on the young women I met in East Africa last year.
In September of 2015, fresh from a few weeks of working in New Hampshire for Hillary’s campaign, I was on a plane to Uganda. I was traveling to take part in a three-month Gap Year program which focused on development and service work, working in areas of microfinance, women’s empowerment, environmental sustainability, and education. Over those three months, I had the honor of meeting countless people who left me a changed person and, in every conversation with them, Hillary was there.
Many women asked me what it was like to live in America: if you could be bought, if your daughter could be traded for a cow, if girls could get married at age 13. I explained that it was different in America. The two cultures are radically different, and when we compare the treatment of women across the globe, cultural differences have to be taken into consideration. But the feeling of inferiority is not foreign. I would tell them that while the problems are not the same, there are still difficulties for women in America and that many women still struggle through them all. Women in America fight for their education, for equality, for money… for basic human rights: this is a universal struggle.
When people would ask me who I looked up to, I would tell them Hillary Clinton. While some knew who she was, many did not. I would explain her life, her journey, and her work to them, and many women would look at me in awe of such an unimaginable woman. When I told them that she was running to be president, many were shocked that a woman could hold such a powerful position. One woman even started to cry at the prospect. As I watched Hilary accept her nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this past July, I felt invincible, and I can only hope that the news traveled to the women I met in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, and that they felt the same way.
We need our next president to believe that there is work to be done to achieve a universal understanding of and adherence to human rights. We need a president who does not look through the blinders of isolation, but through the broad lens of a need for collaboration. We need a president who will fight for us, but also our neighbors and our allies. The women who I met in East Africa may never meet Hillary, but I know in my heart that if we elect Hillary Clinton as our first female president, they will be able to stand a little taller, look ahead more, and keep fighting for themselves and their children. The world deserves someone who inspires change and cracks ceilings. “I’m With Her” because she is with me, she is with you, and she is with us — all of us.
Idealists4Hillary is a grassroots group of volunteers who believe that Secretary Clinton’s strategy for global engagement, development and humanitarian relief reflects American values and will make us safer and stronger. We engage people who care about these issues, including students, faith communities, diaspora groups, and foreign policy and global development practitioners, among others.
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