Hillary Clinton is making headlines today for lashing out at a student in the Democratic Republic of Congo who asked about her husband’s opinion on a policy issue instead of her own. But she’s also getting some attention for a good cause: meeting with rape and sexual violence victims in that war-torn country.

As for the secretary of state’s public outburst, while on a whirlwind seven-nation African tour an audience member apparently hit a nerve when asking what "Mr. Clinton" thought of a World Bank concern about a Chinese loan proffer to the Congolese government. 

"Wait — you want me to tell you what my husband thinks?" Clinton asked. "My husband is not the secretary of state, I am … You ask my opinion I will tell you my opinion, I’m not going to be channeling my husband." Watch the video of Clinton’s response below.

ABC News says the translator made a mistake and asked about Bill Clinton, when the student was actually asking what President Obama thought.  

But even if it was a matter of something lost in translation, we should give her a break. She’s toiling in Africa for good causes with little attention while her husband Bill gets accolades and then some for securing the release of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling from North Korea. She reportedly had to answer a lot of questions on that topic when she arrived in Africa. And we can’t even imagine the toll all that travel takes on a person. It can’t be easy being married to Bill and having a famous last name. But was it a little too defensive?

On another note, Mrs. Clinton is addressing a serious problem in the Congo: sexual violence. She is in the eastern region of Kivu today to meet with rape victims. Aid workers say as many as 400 women are raped every month in Eastern Congo, which has been plagued by ethnic wars and violent militias that have displaced hundreds of thousands of people seeking refuge. Women who attempt simple acts like leaving their home to find food are at risk of violent and humiliating attacks. Rapes also occur when women are sleeping in their refugee camps. 

Clinton, a longtime women’s rights advocate, said continuing sexual and gender-based violence in Kivu is "truly one of mankind’s greatest atrocities."

"The entire society needs to be speaking out against this," Clinton said. "It should be a mark of shame that this happens anywhere in any country … We have to speak out against the impunity of those in positions of authority who either commit these crimes or condone them."

She said she will be pushing for help for "those who are being abused and mistreated and particularly the women who are turned into weapons of war through the rape that they experience."

In Goma, Clinton might meet with President Joseph Kabila and UN peacekeepers, and will participate in a roundtable discussion with victims of sexual and gender-based violence in the country. Let’s hope she can make some inroads in a country that desperately needs to take better care of its women.

Watch video of Clinton’s outburst in the Congo below: