Talking It OverBEIJING — "Go to China and stand up for American values." An American veteran of World War II said these words to me as I was leaving the V-J Day observances in Hawaii last weekend to go to Beijing for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. A few days later, as I stood before the conference delegates preparing to give a keynote address, the veteran's words came back to me. Looking out at the sea of faces representing nearly every country in the world, I appreciated even more the privilege of living in a free society. As an American, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are my birthrights, and they are the birthrights of all Americans. The rights we take for granted are fought for and died for around the world. In some countries, citizens are not allowed to vote, speak their minds, assemble freely or exercise their faith without fear of persecution, arrest or even torture. These are what we commonly think of as violations of human rights. But, as the women's conference taught us, it is also a violation of human rights when, in countries around the world, women and girls are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and beaten up. If one message rang clear from the conference, it is that women's rights are human rights. And human rights are women's rights. As I said to the delegates: 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, sometimes by their own brothers and fathers. 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, which happens to millions of women in Africa. 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. Today, women bear the brunt of human rights violations around the world.
One reason we haven't progressed further is that so many women have been afraid to speak up and speak out. As I said to the conference delegates, it is time to break the silence so that women everywhere have a greater say in the future we share. As different as we may be, there is more that unites than divides us. The conference proved that. I am grateful that on behalf of our country I had the opportunity to attend this conference with men and women from all over the world who are committed to speaking out and taking action against abuses and injustices that fly in the face of human rights. 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. The women's conference by itself won't change any lives. But I hope that, by encouraging people to take notice of these issues, it will help lead us to a world in which every woman and girl is given the respect and dignity she deserves. COPYRIGHT 1995 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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