It's an Obama Love Fest at the AWID Forum!

While I knew that Obama was the world's preferred choice for presidential candidate both from friends, news, and just plain common sense, I'm still surprised how apparent this is at the AWID forum. This does not only speak of Obama's popularity but also about the negative impact the Bush Administration has made on women's rights globally, whether it be on reproductive rights or the war on terror.....only two small examples.

Beyond that, the AWID (Association for Women's Rights and Development) forum theme this year is "The Power of Movements." The Obama campaign was able to illustrate how powerful a movement can be, and its a movement I was happy to be part of. Obama and his new administration has been mentioned in almost every plenary and workshop that I have been in. Not only has he been mentioned, when he is mentioned, the room breaks out in applause. Today, in a plenary session filled with over 2,000 women from over 144 countries - pictures were flashed as six speakers spoke about their experiences and challenges organizing. When Obama's picture was flashed, the room literally erupted, causing the speakers to stop and see what had just happened and whose picture had just been flashed. While its exciting to see this excitement, which is ever more apparent given that the the forum is in South Africa, I hope that the excitement of a 'friend' in the White House does not lead to complacency. With the country facing a recession and leaders attention diverted to solving these pressing problems, the doors of the White House and Congress will need to continually be knocked on. I fear the rights and needs of women including the funding these issues need and deserve will not be addressed if we assume our friends will listen to us. While its great to have two friends in the White House, we can't wait for an appointment. We need to be sitting on their doorstep, continually knocking, until Obama and the new family dog let us in.....and we make them listen.