Taking a stand. Amal Clooney has criticized President-Elect Donald Trump’s proposals to ban Muslims from entering the country, bring back torture and bomb the families of terrorists.
The renowned international human rights lawyer, who is married to actor George Clooney, spoke out against Trump’s plans during a speech about her women’s rights work at The Texas Conference for Women in Austin on Tuesday, November 15.
The Oxford-educated lawyer, 38, told the audience that the Republican’s comments “that there should be a religious test imposed on entering the U.S. or the fact that there should be state-sponsored torture or that families of suspected terrorists should all be killed, all of those things are violations of international human rights law and the values that underlie that,” reports The Hollywood Reporter.
However, Amal, who also discussed her work with Yazidi women who were abused as sex slaves by ISIS in Iraq and Syria, did praise Trump’s vow to make fighting the Islamic State a top priority.
“We have to hope for the best,” Clooney told the audience. “The President-Elect has said that fighting ISIS is actually a priority … so it may be that there can be progress, and obviously everyone has to respect the outcome of the democratic process here, and we have to hope for the best.”
The British legal expert, who has worked with the U.N. and specializes in human rights and international law, also quoted Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton as she urged women to have each other’s backs and continue to push for progress.
“Women’s rights are human rights,” Amal said, quoting Clinton’s iconic 1995 U.N. speech on gender equality. “Holding back women is holding back half of every country in the world.”
Amal and George, who wed in a lavish Italian ceremony in 2014, were outspoken backers of Democratic candidate Clinton, who lost to Trump in a shocking upset. In April, the power couple hosted a $353,400 per couple fundraiser with Clinton at their Los Angeles home, which raised millions for her campaign.
Clinton addressed her defeat in an emotional speech to The Children’s Defense Fund on Wednesday, November 16, her first remarks since conceding the election. “Many times this week I wanted to curl up with a book or my dogs and never leave the house again,” she admitted, adding: “I know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election … I am too … I ask you to stay engaged … America needs you.”
