Michelle Obama makes me happy! I can’t tell you how much I enjoy hearing and seeing her in the news. She’s strong, smart, self-assured, and refreshingly real. That pretty much says it all.

March is Women’s History Month and today was a exceptional day. Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton presented the 2009 awards for the International Women of Courage.

Each of these amazing women has a courageous and inspiring story, but Hadizatou Mani‘s (pictured far right above) I found especially powerful.

In 1996, when she was 12, she was sold for $500. “I was negotiated over like a goat,” said Mani. Her mother was a slave, so she was a slave, it was a simple as that. Can you imagine? This was just a little over ten years ago! Niger just criminalized slavery in 2003, but as we all know sometimes the law lags behind when it comes to law enforcement.

Ms. Mani was determined to somehow break the cycle so that her daughter would not have to experience the same world  she did. She knew she needed to be strong, smart, and self-assured in order to succeed. Continue reading A great day for all women! Woo Hoo! →