As former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes rounds championing her track record on women's rights ahead of a likely 2016 presidential campaign, she's found herself defending millions of dollars in questionable donations from Middle Eastern countries known for violence and discrimination against women.
Advancing women's rights issues was not only a central focus of Clinton's as secretary of state, but also throughout her whole life as a philanthropist in the private sector. Clinton is scheduled to headline two prominent events on women's rights this week, and her second attempt at the White House, expected to be announced in April, will undoubtedly be framed as an opportunity for all women to make history, according to The New York Times.
But the now-exposed elephant in the room is that her family's foundation, the Clinton Foundation, has received millions of dollars in donations from Middle Eastern regimes with abysmal women's rights records, which critics are calling somewhat hypocritical.
As the Times notes, "the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation has accepted tens of millions of dollars in donations from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Algeria and Brunei - all of which the State Department has faulted over their records on sex discrimination and other human-rights issues."
In 2011, while Clinton was secretary of state, her department faulted Saudi Arabia for a "lack of equal rights for women and children," saying that violence against women, human trafficking and gender discrimination are "common" there.
However, the Clinton Foundation has accepted at least $10 million from that country since 2001, according to the Times, who also noted that "at least $1 million more was donated by Friends of Saudi Arabia," a nonprofit organization co-founded by a Saudi prince.
Republicans quickly pointed out the apparent contradiction. Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard chief, said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February that Clinton "tweets about women's rights in this country and takes money from governments that deny women the most basic human rights," reported the Times.
Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer, told the Times, "It's a perfect example of the conflict of interest here."
Former President Bill Clinton felt obligated to defend donations received by the family foundation.
"Do we agree with everything they do? No," Clinton said. "You've got to decide when you do this work whether it will do more good than harm if someone helps you from another country."
