Saudi woman who opposes gender equality admires Clinton

Posted By P.J. Aroon Thursday, June 3, 2010 - 4:28 PM

Rowdha Yousef, a Saudi woman, was alarmed when some of her female compatriots started advocating for greater personal freedom, so last August she started a campaign called "My Guardian Knows What's Best for Me" (with "guardian" referring to the male relative who serves as a Saudi woman's guardian and has authority over her when it comes to many legal and personal issues.) Given Yousef's conservative views, as reported in this great New York Times article, it might be surprising to many Westerners that she's an admirer of Secretary Clinton. I wonder what Clinton would think!

Here's the Times description of Yousef, with my bolding:

She is a 39-year-old divorced mother of three (aged 13, 12 and 9) who volunteers as a mediator in domestic abuse cases. A tall, confident woman with a warm, effusive manner and sparkling stiletto-heeled sandals, her conversation, over Starbucks lattes, ranges from racism in the kingdom (Ms. Yousef has Somali heritage and calls herself a black Saudi) to her admiration for Hillary Rodham Clinton to the abuse she says she has suffered at the hands of Saudi liberals.

My hunch is that much of this reaction against calls for greater women's freedom is driven as much by anti-Western sentiment as by a sincere conviction that the conservative status quo is the best. Calls for women's rights can represent Western influence seeping in, meddling, interfering -- and a lot of women don't like that. (Of course, stilettos and Starbucks seem to be acceptable forms of Westernization. Fashion and food can be hard to resist.)

On a related note: As seen in the photo above, Clinton received a rock-star reception when she visited Dar al-Hekma College this February, though it seems that the views of students at an elite Saudi women's college might not be representative of Saudi women as a whole. It's also worth noting that Clinton's reception there was in stark contrast with that of Karen Hughes (George W. Bush's undersecretary of state for public diplomacy) in 2005.

-/AFP/Getty Images

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Photos: Clinton meets with the Dalai Lama

Posted By P.J. Aroon Monday, February 22, 2010 - 5:36 PM

Here are a couple of photos from the U.S. State Department's website of Secretary Clinton's meeting with the Dalai Lama last Thursday, Feb. 18. China expressed its disagreement with the meeting, saying it was U.S. interference in the country's internal domestic affairs. At Friday's press briefing, Assistant Secretary Philip Crowley said, "I think on this issue, obviously, we just agree to disagree on this subject."

U.S. State Department

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Reactions to Clinton's Internet speech

Posted By P.J. Aroon Monday, January 25, 2010 - 10:28 PM

China was not happy with Secretary Clinton's Jan. 21 speech on Internet freedom. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the U.S. State Department "to respect the truth and to stop using the so-called Internet freedom question to level baseless accusations." A Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement, "The Chinese Internet is open."

Craziness. In her speech, Clinton respected the truth, and she didn't make "baseless accusations." As for the Chinese Internet being open, the New York Times got it right when it stated in a pro-Clinton editorial, "The Chinese people know better. So should China's government." (Meanwhile, a favorable Wall Street Journal editorial said, "Kudos to Hillary Clinton.")

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

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China upset with Clinton's Tiananmen remarks

Posted By P.J. Aroon Friday, June 5, 2009 - 3:14 PM

Tiananmen, June 6, 1989

China has expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to Secretary Clinton's statements marking the 20th anniversary of the military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protesters. (In the photo above, the People's Liberation Army guards a street leading to Tiananmen Square on June 6, 1989, two days after the infamous crackdown.)

On June 3, Clinton called on the Chinese government to "provide a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing, both to learn and to heal." She also said China should "give the rule of law, protection of internationally-recognized human rights, and democratic development the same priority as it has given to economic reform."

In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized Clinton for "crudely meddling in Chinese domestic affairs." He also said, "We urge the United States to forsake its prejudices, correct its erroneous ways and avoid obstructing and damaging China-U.S. relations."

The Chinese government has never published a count of those who died. A New York Times article yesterday stated that hundreds died.

The bold tone of Clinton's remarks are a contrast to those she made in February, in which she seemed to downplay human rights as a priority.

Photo: MANUEL CENETA/AFP/Getty Images

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