Photo courtesy of The Christian Science Monitor

With a fond farewell to her New York constituents, Sen. Hillary Clinton stood this morning with her one-time rival, President-elect Barack Obama, and proudly agreed to serve as his Secretary of State.

Clinton's ascension to be the nation's top diplomat also gives new hope to supporters of international women's rights, who see Clinton as one of the world's leading figures in the fight to improve education, safety, and economic opportunity for women and girls.

"This is a new opportunity. We're very optimistic," said Daphne Jayasinghe, Amnesty International's acting advocacy director for Europe/Central Asia and violence against women. The human rights group is pushing for ratification of a UN document calling for an end to gender discrimination, as well as programs to counter violence against women and girls.

The election of Joseph Biden as vice president makes Clinton's agenda for women even more promising, said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. Biden's strong Senate record on combating violence against women domestically and abroad has brought him accolades from women's advocates. "It is very exciting," Gandy said. "The two of them will be a dynamic team in terms of increasing the treatment around the world of women as human beings."