Michelle Obama addressed the next generation of women leaders in Soweto today as part of her trip to Southern Africa with an impassioned speech showing the same, if not more, charisma and ability to inspire as her husband Barack Obama.
Speaking from the Regina Mundi Church, Mrs Obama delivered the keynote address to the Young African Women Leaders Forum, a two-day meeting of 75 women aged 16 to 30 who are playing leadership roles across the continent.� The Regina Mundi Church has great historical significance as a headquarters for political activism during the struggle against apartheid, particularly during the Soweto youth uprising in 1976, when students leading a peaceful protest demanding better education were fired upon by security forces and sought shelter there.
In her speech, Mrs Obama urged South Africa's young women to be the generation that ends hunger, corruption, and tackles the suffering and stigma of Aids. She told the audience that there are still many causes worth making sacrifices for.
"You can be the generation that teaches the world that HIV is preventable, treatable and not a source of shame, you can be the generation that ensures that women are no longer second class citizens,"�
Travelling with her daughters, Malia and Sasha, and her mother, Marian Robinson, Mrs Obama is keen to use her own personal story to empower young people, particularly women. The US State Department described the visit as a mix of policy trip and personal pilgrimage.
"She's coming on this trip to talk about women's development and youth development, and South Africa's a leader in that, not only on the continent but globally," said Elizabeth Trudeau, spokeswoman at the US embassy in Pretoria.
Mrs Obama?s six-day trip also includes a safari in Botswana, a visit with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu in Cape Town and a trip to the memorial for Hector Pieterson - a 12-year-old student killed during the 1976 uprising.� Her visit commenced with a rare meeting with 92-year-old former president Nelson Mandela at his home in Johannesburg and Thursday will see her travel to Cape Town to visit the jail at Robben Island where Mr Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years of incarceration.
Image courtesy of Randy Darbonne
Source: http://www.thenextwomen.com/2011/06/22/michelle-obama-set-inspire-new-generation-women-leaders
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