Change the face of power, says U.N delegate Abzug

Bella Abzug, leader of the United States delegation to the Beijing Women's Conference, told an audience at the university's Guest Center Tuesday that women's participation in global affairs is essential as we enter the next millennium.

"Women are trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick," but now, "women are not that content, and need to carry a bigger stick," she said.

Abzug, who replaced Vice President Al Gore as the noon speaker, discussed the topic of "The Beijing Conference and the next 50 years for Women," to a luncheon crowd of approximately 160 people. Her speech was part of a day-long conference commemorating the founding of the United Nations 50 years ago.

Abzug, a women's activist and Manhattan congresswoman, has written many books on the fight for the rights of women.

"A revolution has begun, and there is no going back," said Abzug.

She arrived in a vibrant purple skirt and jacket with matching hat, and told the crowd of SF State faculty, staff, retired San Francisco residents and businesswomen, "you know, I am a feminist."

Across the country, U.N. celebrations were concluding in New York, where foreign heads of state and dignitaries had spent three days discussing the future of the U.N.

The day's events at SF State, which were sponsored by the global peace studies department and the Commonwealth Club of California, were held for students as a way of educating them on topics such as nuclear weapons, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the rights of indigenous people, peacekeeping and the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.

However, only about 15 students attended the luncheon.

Abzug, who spoke for 40 minutes, discussed the Beijing Conference and its implications on the future of women in the world.

There was one person, however, who was disappointed in the change of speakers.

"What do you mean, Al Gore isn't speaking? That is why I am here," said retired San Francisco resident Liz McKnown.

The Beijing Conference, Abzug added, was a "consolidation and reaffirmation of previous conferences," with an agenda for a "better world for all."

She said one of the major themes discussed at the Beijing Conference was the reproductive health of women.

This theme, according to Abzug, was controversial for representatives from the Vatican and some Middle Eastern countries. The Vatican held to their stance that women should not take birth control into their own hands. Some Middle Eastern representatives had a different view on women receiving "equal inheritance rights" as men, she said.

It is up to the women, according to Abzug, to change the issues of population in the next century.

"Women need to keep heads in the clouds, but feet on the ground, for it is women who will change the nature of power, not the power changing the nature of women," Abzug said.

[ Golden Gater Online October 26, 1995 ]

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