By Vivien Hoyt
When the editor mentioned that March would be the Women’s Issue, I began waving my arm up in the air like a school child with the right answer. “Can I please write about Hillary Clinton? She’s my hero.”
One of the reasons Mrs. Clinton is my hero is because she has lived her whole life trying to help uplift women around the world. She understands that when women are able to nurture their children, not only does the family prosper, but the community and the whole country. Statistics show that when women receive proper medical care when pregnant, decent shelter, food, basic clothing and education for their children, the whole country thrives. She supported this idea by writing a Grammy award winning book emphasizing that It Takes a Village to raise a successful child. She also made a famous, bold speech in front of a Chinese delegation and 180 countries stating, “Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all.”
As Secretary of State; she became the first former First Lady to serve in a president’s cabinet. Clinton visited 112 countries during her tenure; making her the most widely traveled secretary of state. Mrs. Clinton visited Mexico several times, but the most recent visit was in September, 2012 with a visit to Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations, Patricia Espinosa.
She was quoted as saying, “Now, our two countries share many other priorities, and one of them, empowering women and girls.” Mrs. Clinton took her visit as an opportunity to sign the Memorandum of Understanding. This was an agreement between Mexico and the US to work together to advance gender equality, empower girls and women, promote their human rights, and enhance their security.
On a previous visit in January 25, 2011, Mrs. Clinton came to Mexico but this time to discuss the drug war. She reiterated her support for President Felipe Calderon’s fight against drug gangs. Mrs. Clinton praised the Mexican government’s efforts to reform the judicial and prison systems, and promised to maintain U.S. aid for the fight against organized crime. Under a security cooperation program called the Merida Initiative, the U.S. is spending around $1.7billion on helping Mexico and Central America tackle drug-trafficking.
Mrs. Clinton has been a champion for women’s rights all her life and her accomplishments indicate her passion. Hopefully, her visits to Mexico will provide more choices for women in this beautiful country. There are many fans hoping she will run for President of the United States in 2016, but she has made no promises. Having two daughters myself, I hope they can celebrate a female president of the United States in their lifetime.