PAKISTAN: HILLARY & CHELSEA CLINTON'S VISIT

(26 Mar 1995) English/Nat

US First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Sunday discussed women's issues in Islamabad, the first stop of Clinton's South Asia tour.

They talked about their attempts to improve the lives of women in their countries and their efforts to better health care and education standards.

Aides say Bhutto also previewed the broader agenda she will bring to Washington when she meets President Clinton next month.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, accompanied by her daughter Chelsea, began her South Asia tour with a visit to Pakistan.

Pakistan and India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - the other countries the First Lady will be visiting - are all struggling with overpopulation and illiteracy.

Clinton's mission is twofold: to support efforts to improve the dismal lot of many women and children in these male-dominated societies, and to try to improve strained U-S relations with this corner of the world.

On Sunday, Pakistan's Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto hosted a luncheon in Clinton's honour.

She praised her guest for her work with health care and children.

SOUNDBITE:
"Women who take on tough issues and stake out a new territory are often on the receiving end of ignorance. I can personally attest for that. Mrs Clinton, I think you and I should both recall the words of Lady Margaret Thatcher, who once said: 'If a woman is tough, she is strident. But if a man is tough, gosh, he is a great leader'. Mrs Clinton, to me and the people of Pakistan you are both tough and a great leader."
SUPER CAPTION: Benazir Bhutto - Pakistani Prime Minister

The First Lady responded by saying how much she admired the Prime Minister's commitment to education and health care.

SOUNDBITE:
"What you have done to recognise the great potential of your country
as being tied to the great potential of its women is something that makes common sense and is giving all of us hope. As we invest in women and girls, we invest in men, we invest in the future, we invest in our society."
SUPER CAPTION: Hillary Rodham Clinton - US First Lady

Bhutto and her two children later gave Hillary and 15-year-old Chelsea a tour of their home.

Afterwards, the Clinton women donned traditional headscarves and toured the Faisal mosque, one of the largest and most spectacular in Pakistan.

Later in the evening, they will travel to Lahore before departing Monday for India.

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