Laura Bush On Brutality Against Afghan Women, Children

She Says Life Under Taliban Harsh, Repressive

Following is the weekly U.S. presidential radio address delivered by
First Lady Laura Bush, who launched a worldwide effort November 17 "to
focus on the brutality against women and children" by the radical
Taliban regime and terrorists operating from Afghanistan's remote
areas.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of Mrs. Laura Bush
November 17

RADIO ADDRESS BY LAURA BUSH TO THE NATION

Crawford, Texas

Laura Bush: Good morning.

I'm Laura Bush, and I'm delivering this week's radio address to kick
off a world-wide effort to focus on the brutality against women and
children by the al-Qaida terrorist network and the regime it supports
in Afghanistan, the Taliban. That regime is now in retreat across much
of the country, and the people of Afghanistan -- especially women --
are rejoicing. Afghan women know, through hard experience, what the
rest of the world is discovering: The brutal oppression of women is a
central goal of the terrorists.

Long before the current war began, the Taliban and its terrorist
allies were making the lives of children and women in Afghanistan
miserable. Seventy percent of the Afghan people are malnourished. One
in every four children won't live past the age of five because health
care is not available. Women have been denied access to doctors when
they're sick.

Life under the Taliban is so hard and repressive, even small displays
of joy are outlawed -- children aren't allowed to fly kites; their
mothers face beatings for laughing out loud. Women cannot work outside
the home, or even leave their homes by themselves.

The severe repression and brutality against women in Afghanistan is
not a matter of legitimate religious practice. Muslims around the
world have condemned the brutal degradation of women and children by
the Taliban regime. The poverty, poor health, and illiteracy that the
terrorists and the Taliban have imposed on women in Afghanistan do not
conform with the treatment of women in most of the Islamic world,
where women make important contributions in their societies. Only the
terrorists and the Taliban forbid education to women. Only the
terrorists and the Taliban threaten to pull out women's fingernails
for wearing nail polish. The plight of women and children in
Afghanistan is a matter of deliberate human cruelty, carried out by
those who seek to intimidate and control.

Civilized people throughout the world are speaking out in horror --
not only because our hearts break for the women and children in
Afghanistan, but also because in Afghanistan, we see the world the
terrorists would like to impose on the rest of us.

All of us have an obligation to speak out. We may come from different
backgrounds and faiths -- but parents the world over love our
children. We respect our mothers, our sisters and daughters. Fighting
brutality against women and children is not the expression of a
specific culture; it is the acceptance of our common humanity -- a
commitment shared by people of good will on every continent.

Because of our recent military gains in much of Afghanistan, women are
no longer imprisoned in their homes. They can listen to music and
teach their daughters without fear of punishment. Yet the terrorists
who helped rule that country now plot and plan in many countries. And
they must be stopped. The fight against terrorism is also a fight for
the rights and dignity of women.

In America, next week brings Thanksgiving. After the events of the
last few months, we'll be holding our families even closer. And we
will be especially thankful for all the blessings of American life. I
hope Americans will join our family in working to insure that dignity
and opportunity will be secured for all the women and children of
Afghanistan.

Have a wonderful holiday, and thank you for listening.