Secretary of State Clinton addresses challenges on trip

If I were to construct a list of the most offensive things that anyone can say to a woman, the following would definitely be on it: What does your husband think? The only circumstance under which this would not be offensive would be if the individual asking had already asked the woman what she thinks about it, and if the individual asking knows for a fact that the woman is heterosexual and married. (Even in the latter case, I would prefer the use of “partner.”) Yesterday, during a town hall meeting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, someone asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton what her husband, former President Bill Clinton, thinks about certain policies.

Her response? Secretary of State Clinton reportedly said, “My husband is not Secretary of State, I am… If you want my opinion, I will tell you my opinion. I am not going to be channeling my husband.” Touché, Secretary of State Clinton, touché. She is in the middle of an 11-day trip to Africa, and this strong retort to this offensive question is indicative of the powerful message of change that she is promoting.

Secretary of State Clinton is in the Congo calling for democratic reform and speaking out against the rape epidemic that has swept over the country. She is planning to visit rape victims in Kinshasa later this week. Although rape continue to plague the Congo in growing numbers, Secretary of State Clinton is trying to encourage and mobilize young people in the Congo to create a sustaining cultural change to stop this epidemic. Since January, it is reported that 3,500 women have been raped, and the number of male rape victims has increased drastically in recent months.

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