08 August 2009

Clinton Celebrates Strength of Women in Africa

South Africa honors Clinton, women on national holiday

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and South Africa's Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

By Kelly Daniel
Staff Writer

Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, visiting South Africa August 7 as part of a seven-nation tour of Africa, used an evening in Pretoria to focus on and celebrate one of the continent’s greatest strengths: its women.

Clinton was an honored guest at a gala dinner commemorating South Africa’s National Women’s Day, which is celebrated August 9. The dinner was hosted by South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who greeted the secretary of state upon her arrival at the Pretoria presidential guest house earlier August 7. The holiday honors a 1956 march by South African women protesting apartheid-era “pass laws” that limited freedom of movement.

Clinton and Nkoana-Mashabane both spoke of the strength of the U.S.–South African relationship in remarks given at the dinner, said Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs Terri Robl of the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria.

“It solidified the more formal meetings during the day, where the two just agreed that we’re going to work together on everything, from regional issues to climate change,” said Robl, who spoke to America.gov from Pretoria.

Clinton, speaking extemporaneously at times, talked about the resourcefulness of African women, of women’s contributions to society and of women’s roles in technology and other emerging fields, the economic officer said. Nkoana-Mashabane spoke warmly of the relationship between South Africa and the United States, and offered “a strong tribute to Clinton and what she has accomplished,” Robl said.

“They made the point that there is a relationship between the two countries because they are both examples of how they overcame diversity and difficult problems,” Robl said of the secretary and the foreign minister. Clinton also celebrated South Africa as an engine of development in Africa.

Among the “really amazing South African women” attending the dinner, Robl said, were several of the women who participated in the 1956 march that the national holiday was created in 1994 to commemorate. South African businesswomen and female political leaders and government ministers also attended the dinner, where several people sang portions of a song written for the 1956 event.

That song gave birth to a phrase — “You have tampered with the women, you have struck a rock” — that continues to resonate as an example of women’s courage and strength, according to an organization that chronicles South Africa’s history. The South African History Online project, offering its analysis of the 1956 march, concludes: “Women had once again shown that the stereotype of women as politically inept and immature, tied to the home, was outdated and inaccurate.”

Clinton is using her Africa trip to underline the United States’ commitment to partner with governments, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations and private citizens to build societies where individuals can realize their full potential, according to U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, speaking before the trip. Celebrating the key role that women play in achieving those goals is part of the secretary’s efforts, he said.

“It was an amazing evening and it ended up with the secretary and minister up there [on stage] singing,” Robl said. Both genders took part in celebrating women, she said, as one of the male South African ministers also took to the stage to serenade Clinton and Nkoana-Mashabane with the classic song made popular by American artist Aretha Franklin, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

Clinton traveled to Africa on August 4 to attend the Eighth African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. She will next travel to Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde before returning to the United States on August 14.

The secretary’s trip comes after President Obama visited Ghana in July, making this the earliest of any previous administration in which both the president and the secretary of state have visited Africa.

See also Clinton’s op-ed, “Women Are Drivers of Positive Change,” published in the August 9 edition of the City Press, South Africa.