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Excerpted from
Women's Rights Are Human Rights
Remarks to the United
Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
in Beijing,
China, September
5, 1995
by Hillary Rodham Clinton
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Hillary Rodham Clinton
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 Mrs. Mongella, distinguished delegates
and guests:
I would like to thank the Secretary
General of the United Nations for inviting me to be part of the United
Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. This is truly a celebration—a
celebration of the contributions women make in every aspect of life: in
the home, on the job, in their communities, as mothers, wives, sisters,
daughters, learners, workers, citizens and leaders.
It is also a coming together, much
the way women come together every day in every country.
We come together in fields and in
factories. In village markets and supermarkets. In living rooms and board
rooms.
Whether it is while playing with our
children in the park, or washing clothes in a river, or taking a break
at the office water cooler, we come together and talk about our  aspirations
and concerns. And time and again, our talk turns to our children and our
families.
However different we may be, there
is far more that unites us than divides us. We share a common future.
And we are here to find common ground so that we may help bring new dignity
and respect to women and girls all over the world—and in so doing,
bring new strength and stability to families as well.
By gathering in Beijing, we are focusing
world attention on issues that matter most in the lives of women and their
families: access to education, health care, jobs, and credit, the chance
to enjoy basic legal and human rights and participate fully in the political
life of their countries.
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There are
some who question the reason for this conference. Let them listen to the
voices of women in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.
There are some who wonder whether
the lives of women and girls matter to economic and political progress
around the globe. . . . Let them look at the women gathered here and at
Hairou . . . the homemakers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, policymakers,
and women who run their own businesses.
It is conferences like this that compel
governments and peoples everywhere to listen, look and face the world's
most pressing problems.
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