First Lady Presses For Women’s Rights

Hillary Rodham Clinton landed in male-dominated Zimbabwe on Friday with the message that a democratic government cannot succeed if it devalues women.

“A democracy depends on the full integration of women into society, especially on seeing to it that they have equal access to the same tools of opportunity as men,” the first lady said upon landing at Harare International Airport.

Clinton, on a six-country, two-week visit to Africa, met briefly with President Robert Mugabe at his home and held a round-table discussion with prominent women at the National Gallery.

Clinton said she was eager to learn more about the economic health and political concerns of women in Zimbabwe, a patriarchal society like many African nations but also a place where women have made some professional progress.