[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 68 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

  1st Session
S. RES. 68

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment of women and 
                  girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 1999

Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Reid, Ms. 
 Landrieu, Mr. Wellstone, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Feingold, Mr. 
Smith of Oregon, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Santorum, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, and 
Mrs. Murray) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

                             March 23, 1999

                Reported by Mr. Helms, without amendment

                              May 5, 1999

                        Considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment of women and 
                  girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Whereas millions of women and girls living under Taliban rule Afghanistan are 
        denied their basic human rights;
Whereas according to the Department of State and international human rights 
        organizations, the Taliban continues to commit widespread and well-
        documented human rights abuses, in gross violation of internationally 
        accepted norms;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State Country Report on 
        Human Rights Practices (hereafter ``1998 State Department Human Rights 
        Report''), violence against women in Afghanistan occurs frequently, 
        including beatings, rapes, forced marriages, disappearances, kidnapings, 
        and killings;
Whereas women and girls under Taliban rule are generally barred from working, 
        going to school, leaving their homes without an immediate male family 
        member as chaperone, and visiting doctors, hospitals or clinics;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, gender 
        restrictions by the Taliban continue to interfere with the delivery of 
        humanitarian assistance to women and girls in Afghanistan;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, under 
        Taliban rule women are forced to don a head-to-toe garment known as a 
        burqa, which has only a mesh screen for vision, and many women found in 
        public not wearing a burqa, or wearing a burqa that does not properly 
        cover the ankles, are beaten by Taliban militiamen;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, some poor 
        women under Taliban rule cannot afford the cost of a burqa and thus are 
        forced to remain at home or risk beatings if they go outside the home 
        without one;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, the lack of 
        a burqa has resulted in the inability of some women under Taliban rule 
        to get necessary medical care because they cannot leave home;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, women under 
        Taliban rule reportedly have been beaten if their shoe heels click when 
        they walk;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, under 
        Taliban rule women in homes must not be visible from the street, and 
        houses with female occupants must have their windows painted over;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, under 
        Taliban rule women are not allowed to drive, and taxi drivers reportedly 
        have been beaten if they take unescorted women as passengers;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, women under 
        Taliban rule are forbidden to enter mosques or other places of worship; 
        and
Whereas women and girls of all ages under Taliban rule have suffered needlessly 
        and even died from curable illness because they have been turned away 
        from health care facilities because of their gender: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the President should instruct the United States Representative 
        to the United Nations to use all appropriate means to prevent any 
        Taliban-led government in Afghanistan from obtaining the seat in the 
        United Nations General Assembly reserved for Afghanistan so long as 
        gross violations of internationally recognized human rights against 
        women and girls persist; and
            (2) the United States should refuse to recognize any government in 
        Afghanistan which is not taking actions to achieve the following goals 
        in Afghanistan:
                    (A) The effective participation of women in all civil, 
                economic, and social life.
                    (B) The right of women to work.
                    (C) The right of women and girls to an education without 
                discrimination and the reopening of schools to women and girls 
                at all levels of education.
                    (D) The freedom of movement of women and girls.
                    (E) Equal access of women and girls to health facilities.
                    (F) Equal access of women and girls to humanitarian aid.
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