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The reason I made women's issues central to American foreign policy was not because I was a feminist but because we know that societies are more stable if women are politically and economically empowered. Women don't have trouble finding work, but they need to be valued, and they need to be part of a legal system. So I did it for a number of reasons, but it makes a difference. I have found it hard to just talk about women's issues; they are people issues, and they are very central to how people treat each other. In some ways women are like the canary in the coal mine. If women are treated badly, it shows what else is happening out there, as was certainly the case in Afghanistan. Governments need to understand that the United States considers the way women are treated as important, and that their societies will be better off if women are treated well. I don't think people should think of women's issues as auxiliary issues; they are central."
The reason I made women's issues central to American foreign policy was not because I was a feminist but because we know that societies are more stable if women are politically and economically empowered. Women don't have trouble finding work, but they need to be valued, and they need to be part of a legal system. So I did it for a number of reasons, but it makes a difference. I have found it hard to just talk about women's issues; they are people issues, and they are very central to how people treat each other. In some ways women are like the canary in the coal mine. If women are treated badly, it shows what else is happening out there, as was certainly the case in Afghanistan. Governments need to understand that the United States considers the way women are treated as important, and that their societies will be better off if women are treated well. I don't think people should think of women's issues as auxiliary issues; they are central."-- Ms. Madeleine Albright,
former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
and the first woman to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of State
former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
and the first woman to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of State
(photo via boncherry.com)
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