Amal Clooney is opening up about the way her children inspire her work. At an Oct. 25 event for the Girls Opportunity Alliance’s Get Her There campaign, the human-rights lawyer spoke to Michelle Obama and Melinda Gates about educating and empowering young girls around the world. The three women have collaborated with their respective foundations and pledged to work toward ending child marriage and advancing gender equality. During the conversation, Clooney, who’s mom to 5-year-old twins Ella and Alexander alongside husband George Clooney, revealed her kids are “the real driving force” behind her advocacy.
“When they ask us, ‘What did you do about this? What did you say about that?’ I’ve thought about what will my answer be, and I hope it will be a good one.”
She shared that while becoming a parent “hasn’t made me change my trajectory,” “it’s put a fine point on why we’re doing all of this,” referring to her work with the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which advocates for justice in vulnerable communities. “They’re 5, so they’re not quite on top of current events . . . actually my son drew a picture the other day of a prison and he was like, ‘Putin should be in here,'” she said with a laugh. “I am working on Ukrainian affairs.”
Clooney continued, “I do think about in a few years when they’re more than 5, when they start to learn about some of these issues that we’re talking about and what’s happening in the world. You know, when they ask us, ‘What did you do about this? What did you say about that ?’ I’ve thought about what will my answer be, and I hope it will be a good one.”
The barrister also stressed the importance of accountability when it comes to injustices, particularly sexual agenda-based violence. “We cannot assume that justice is going to happen. We have to actually fight for it, and we have to make it happen,” she said, speaking about how she was especially inspired by school girls in Iran.
“A protest movement being led by girls in school uniform who are facing off against a regime that is using force to torture and kill, and they’re still determined, because if they’re not the ones on the front lines, they can’t rely on others for change,” she said. “I think that’s incredible, and I think that also gives us perspective. If girls like that can risk everything to just be free to show their hair and have basic freedoms, then we can all do more from where we’re sitting.”
