Secretary of State Hilary Clinton at Grass-Roots Level in Africa

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, toured seven African countries recently to talk with women about their impoverished and harsh lives.

She found out about female chicken farmers in Kenya, rape victims in eastern Congo and housing projects for poor women in South Africa.

Her goal was to press governments in these countries to step-up and crack-down on the sexual abuse, and re-vamp US aid programs to put more emphasis on women’s issues and needs.

She also hopes that as a result of her trip she has connected with women at the grass-roots level, and that together they can develop platforms empowering the women to change their government’s priorities.

Source: The Age 15.8.09