Hillary Clinton recently made her first appearance since stepping down as secretary of state in January. She appeared at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, a ceremony acknowledging female leaders in countries such as Brazil, Somalia, and the Palestinian territories. Her message, as well as the message of the Vital Voices organization as a whole, is for women empowerment and for making the voices of women heard. According to the Vital Voices website, their mission is “to identify, invest in and bring visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and prosperity in their communities.”

Clinton has become the poster child for women’s empowerment as she continues to break gender barriers in her political career in the United States and place women issues as a higher priority on the agenda. Hillary Clinton states, “When I became secretary of state, I was determined to weave this perspective into the fabric of American foreign policy,” and she did just that when she stepped in and helped free Cambodian women that was imprisoned simply for protesting (a story she recollected upon during the ceremony).

Her first appearance came at a very interesting time, mere hours after ReadyforHillary.com went live online. This website, formed by supporters of Hillary Clinton, only adds fuel to the rumor that Hillary Clinton is a possible presidential candidate for 2016. The focus of Hillary Clinton’s speech at the ceremony at the Kennedy Center was about acknowledging female empowerment and leaders across the globe and the call for greater gender equality.

– Angela Hooks

Source: NY Times
Video: Associated Press