SPECIAL REPORT: Clinton Global Initiative Members Emphasize Empowering Women and Girls for Fifth Consecutive Year

In the US city of New York today, at the tenth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, an effort by the US-based Clinton Foundation to connect public and private organizations to address problems such as poverty and climate change, a major focus was placed on empowering women and girls for the fifth consecutive year. Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, argued that it is critical to reach out to those with whom you generally disagree in order to seek common ground from which progress is possible. Regarding issues facing women and girls, Minister Ploumen argued that “leveling the playing field” for females involves more than economics, but extends into areas such as inheritance law, safety in transportation, and the passage and enforcement of laws against domestic violence.

Melanne Verveer, the Executive Director of the Institute for Women, Peace and Security at US-based Georgetown University, noted that the most common issue poor women have expressed to her in relation to improving their opportunities is the need to engage men in the effort. Kennedy Odede, Founder and CEO of Kenya-based NGO Shining Hope for Communities, reported success convincing men to support women’s rights by invoking their love of their mothers and sisters. Tim Hanstad, President and CEO of US-based land-rights NGO Landesa, reported that appealing to men to support empowering their wives was less successful as a starting point than empowering their daughters. In closing, Mr Odede invigorated the crowd by saying that as a man, “I cannot speak for women, but I can speak for justice.”

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Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting 2014

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