Leaders praise Australia PM for sexism speech

(SYDNEY) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Wednesday that world leaders congratulated her at the Asia-Europe Meeting in Laos on her now famous misogyny speech, which went viral on the Internet.

Gillard, the nation's first woman leader, made an aggressive speech in parliament last month accusing opposition leader Tony Abbott of misogyny and sexism, giving her a significant boost in opinion polls.

The speech was viewed by millions of people on YouTube and prompted a leading dictionary to broaden its definition of the word misogyny.

Gillard said she was pleasantly surprised at the reaction she received at the international summit which ended Tuesday in Vientiane, including from French President Francois Hollande and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

"The president of France congratulated me on the speech, as did the prime minister of Denmark, and some other leaders, just casually as I've moved around, have also mentioned it to me," Gillard told ABC radio.

"So some approval here from some leaders at the Asia-Europe meeting."

A fired-up Gillard accused Abbott of hypocrisy in her speech, saying she had been offended by many of his remarks over the years and she would not be "lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man".

"I've had enough, Australian women have had enough. When I see sexism and misogyny I'm going to call them for what they are," she said.

Elections are due in Australia next year.