Measure Urges Afghan Women's Participation
in Reconstruction

All Ethnic Groups Should Take Part in Rebuilding of Country

A bipartisan group of senators introduced a resolution November 28
calling for the participation of women from all of Afghanistan's
ethnic groups in the rebuilding of that country.

Senator Christopher Dodd (Democrat of Connecticut) submitted Senate
Concurrent Resolution 86 (S. Con. Res. 86) with eight co-sponsors.

The proposed resolution says Afghan women "from all ethnic groups in
Afghanistan should be permitted to participate in the economic and
political reconstruction of Afghanistan."

S. Con. Res. 86 goes on to say that "any constitution or legal
structure of a reconstructed Afghanistan should guarantee the human
and political rights of Afghan women."

Dodd, in introducing the proposed resolution, noted that as the United
States is now in the midst of military action against the Taliban
regime "in response to the horrific attacks on American civilians on
September 11, we have the opportunity to help restore to the Afghani
women the basic freedoms and opportunities which should be available
to all citizens of the world."

Long-term stability in Afghanistan "is contingent upon a full and
expeditious renewal of these rights," he added.

The people of Afghanistan, Dodd continued, "believe overwhelmingly
that there is a place for Afghani women in Islamic society that
affords them opportunities for meaningful professional and political
roles in the rebuilding of their country."

Following are the texts of S. Con. Res. 86 and the speech by Senator
Christopher Dodd introducing the resolution from the Congressional
Record:

Senate
November 28, 2001

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 86

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT WOMEN FROM
ALL ETHNIC GROUPS IN AFGHANISTAN SHOULD PARTICIPATE
IN THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN

Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. KERRY, Mr. MCCAIN, Mrs. CLINTON, Ms. SNOWE,
Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. HUTCHISON, and Mrs. BOXER) submitted
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations:

S. Con. Res. 86

Whereas until 1996 women in Afghanistan enjoyed the right to be
educated, work, vote, and hold elective office;

Whereas women served on the committee that drafted the Constitution of
Afghanistan in 1964;

Whereas during the 1970s women were appointed to the Afghan ministries
of education, health, and law;

Whereas in 1977 women comprised more than 15 percent of the Loya
Jirga, the Afghan national legislative assembly;

Whereas during the war with the Soviet Union as many as 70 percent of
the teachers, nurses, doctors, and small business owners in
Afghanistan were women;

Whereas in 1996 the Taliban stripped the women of Afghanistan of their
most basic human and political rights;

Whereas under Taliban rule women have become one of the most
vulnerable groups in Afghanistan, accounting for 75 percent or more of
all Afghan refugees;

Whereas a study conducted by Physicians for Human Rights and released
in May 2001 indicates that more than 90 percent of Afghan men and
women believe that women should have the right to receive an
education, work, freely express themselves, enjoy legal protections,
and participate in the government; and

Whereas restoring the human and political rights that were once
enjoyed by Afghan women is essential to the long-term stability of a
reconstructed Afghanistan: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That
it is the sense of Congress that --

(1) a portion of the humanitarian assistance provided to Afghanistan
should be targeted to Afghan women and their organizations;

(2) Afghan women from all ethnic groups in Afghanistan should be
permitted to participate in the economic and political reconstruction
of Afghanistan; and

(3) any constitution or legal structure of a reconstructed Afghanistan
should guarantee the human and political rights of Afghan women.

(end text of resolution)


(begin text of Dodd's remarks)

Mr. DODD. Madam President, I rise today, along with my colleagues
Senators KERRY, MCCAIN, CLINTON, CANTWELL, SNOWE, MIKULSKI, BOXER, and
HUTCHISON to submit a resolution expressing the sense of Senate that
women from all ethnic groups should participate in the economic and
political reconstruction of Afghanistan. This is an issue we feel
strongly about, and it is my hope that the Senate will soon take up
this important issue. Let me also thank Congresswoman CONNIE MORELLA
for her work on this matter and for introducing companion legislation
in House.

As you know, since the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 1996, women
and girls living under this regime have been subjected daily to an
array of human rights violations, from lack of access to education and
health care to outright violence. They have been denied equal
protection under the law, and have struggled to survive without the
same professional or financial opportunities afforded the men in their
country.

Certainly, even before the rise of the Taliban, Afghanistan was in
many respects a country in crisis, facing drought, ethnic conflict,
and uncertain leadership. It was the women and children of this
troubled country that bore the brunt of this suffering. However,
despite these many hardships, the women of Afghanistan persevered, and
played a large and meaningful role in Afghani society. Prior to the
rule of the Taliban, women had the right to vote, served as cabinet
ministers, enjoyed rich professional careers, and indeed constituted a
majority of country's lawyers, doctors, teachers, and business owners.
Women participated in every aspect of Afghani life, and were fully
integrated into its cultural, political, and economic fabric. However,
since the Taliban regime came to power, conditions for women and
children have worsened drastically. Stripped of their basic human
rights and freedoms, they have fought hard to provide for themselves
and their families, and to weather the many abuses suffered at the
hands of the oppressive fundamentalist regime. Many women studied and
taught in secret, determined to retain something of the life they knew
before they were forced to retreat behind the burka.

In response to this humanitarian crisis, United States policy in
Afghanistan has been guided, in part, by overwhelming concerns about
these and other gross human rights violations. Now that we are in
midst of military action against the Taliban in response to the
horrific attacks on American civilians on September 11, we have the
opportunity to help restore to the Afghani women the basic freedoms
and opportunities which should be available to all citizens of the
world. In addition, I believe that long-term stability in Afghanistan
is contingent upon a full and expeditious renewal of these rights. The
people of Afghanistan, both men and women, believe overwhelmingly that
there is a place for Afghani women in Islamic society that affords
them opportunities for meaningful professional and political roles in
the rebuilding of their country. The reconstruction of Afghanistan,
both politically and culturally, will require the insight and
dedication of all of the people of Afghanistan, and women must not be
excluded from this vital process. They must be included as equal
partners as this nation begins to recover and rebuild.

In many ways September 11 has become a turning point for the United
States. It has been one of sorrow, and it has been a wake-up call that
we need to guard our rights and our way of life. But it also an
opportunity for the yoke of oppression to be once and for all lifted
from the Afghani people, particularly the women and children who have
suffered so much over the last decade. I urge my colleagues to support
this resolution.