Women Key in Rights Fight, First Lady Says

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton told a U.N. conference on equality Thursday that women stand on the front lines of the battle for human rights and that their voices must be heard.

The day after former White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky painted a highly intimate portrait of her relationship with President Clinton for more than 48 million television viewers, the first lady received a standing ovation when she entered the large conference room at U.N. headquarters.

“It is no longer acceptable to say that the abuse and mistreatment of women is cultural,” she told more than 1,000 people who packed the room. “It should be called what it is--criminal.”

Mrs. Clinton sharply criticized the militant Islamic Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, labeling their regime one of the world’s worst abusers of women.

“There probably is no more egregious and systematic trampling of fundamental rights of women today than what is happening in Afghanistan under the iron rule of the Taliban,” she said, pointing out that women are barred from careers in medicine and teaching, and that schools for girls have been closed in that country.

“We have heard, all of us, the stories about women being flogged with metal cables because a bit of ankle would be showing,” she said. “We have heard of women being taken from hospital to hospital and finally dying . . . because there were no women doctors and no male doctor could be permitted to treat the women.”

Mrs. Clinton called for tougher laws against trafficking in women and girls, estimating that as many as 2 million are forced into prostitution, domestic servitude or enforced labor each year throughout the world.

The first lady’s New York visit, coming as she considered a run for the Senate here and as Lewinsky graphically described her relationship with the president, engendered enormous interest.

She took political soundings and teased during a speech Wednesday about seeking the Senate seat but revealed nothing of her intentions. On the subject of the former intern, she was silent.

Some political consultants took a look at the other side of the coin: her bruited opponent for the Senate seat, New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

“It’s a real plus for Rudy,” said David Garth, who ran Giuliani’s first successful campaign for office. “It makes his campaign more important, which should bring a lot more money. Visibility means money. Who you are running against means money.

“Running against Hillary, the mayor would be the financial underdog,” Garth predicted. “The other part of it is, if she doesn’t run, it appears Rudy has frightened her out of the race--which is another plus for him.”

In addition, “by saying she is not going to declare until the summer,” Garth said, “she deprives other Democratic candidates of the chance to leave the starting gate.”

Mrs. Clinton ended her journey to New York on an inspirational note, appearing at a school in Manhattan with a group of famous female athletes, including Olympic gold medal winners gymnast Dominique Dawes and basketball player Nikki McCray; and Billie Jean King, the celebrated tennis player.

“Not everyone will be a star athlete,” she told the students. “But everyone, young women and men alike, can benefit from athletics and can be part of the great process of pushing yourself, and learning how much it takes to excel, to stay healthy, to do the best that we can at all points in our lives.”

Lisa Meyer in The Times’ New York Bureau contributed to this report.