Women's rights are a national security issue

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not the first person to argue that national security is linked to women’s equality when she made it a cornerstone of American foreign policy. President George W. Bush identified “respect for women” as one of the “nonnegotiable demands of human dignity.” Even President Xi Jinping of China said in 2015 that “every step taken to promote women’s cause has been a giant step forward for the progress of human civilization.”

This is not just hot air. Over a decade’s worth of research shows that women’s advancement is critical to stability and to reducing political violence. Countries where women are empowered are vastly more secure, whether the issue is food security, countering violent extremism or resolving disputes with other nations peacefully.

Recruitment by terrorist groups is a prime example. A forthcoming paper by one of us, Professor Hudson, and Hilary Matfess, a researcher at the Institute for Defense Analyses, has found that swiftly rising “bride prices” (money or goods given by the groom to the bride’s family) makes it easier for terrorists to recruit members.