[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2392 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2392

          To promote the empowerment of women in Afghanistan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2006

  Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To promote the empowerment of women in Afghanistan.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Afghan Women Empowerment Act of 
2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Under the oppressive rule of the Taliban, the women of 
        Afghanistan were denied the most basic human rights, including 
        the rights to work, to an education, to health care, and to 
        move freely.
            (2) Women who attempted to assert their rights under the 
        Taliban regime were subjected to beatings and imprisonments, 
        and many suffer from the long-term consequences of such 
        oppression.
            (3) Women in Afghanistan have one of the highest mortality 
        rates in the world, with an estimated 16,000 maternal deaths 
        annually.
            (4) Despite efforts by the United States Government and the 
        international community to improve the lives of women and girls 
        in Afghanistan, many women and girls continue to lack access to 
        basic services, including health care and education. 
        Approximately 80 percent of Afghan women are illiterate.
            (5) Today, women and girls in Afghanistan still face 
        oppression resulting from violence and intimidation by Taliban 
        and other militia groups. In recent months, there has been a 
        significant increase in the number of attacks against girls' 
        schools in an attempt to prevent women and girls from regaining 
        their rights and freedoms.
            (6) The strengthening of institutions and nongovernmental 
        organizations that are led by women in Afghanistan is essential 
        to building civil society and holding the Government of 
        Afghanistan accountable for protecting women's rights and human 
        rights.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the protection of the rights of women and girls in 
        Afghanistan and their full participation in the reestablishment 
        of democracy are essential to the reconstruction of a stable 
        and democratic Afghanistan, and to achieve such a 
        reconstruction, the United States Government must commit 
        resources to advance the rights of women throughout 
        Afghanistan;
            (2) the United States Government should provide strong 
        support for the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs and the 
        Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, both of which were 
        created by the Agreement on Provisional Agreements in 
        Afghanistan Pending the Establishment of Permanent Governing 
        Institutions, done in Bonn December 5, 2001 (commonly known as 
        the ``Bonn Agreement'') to remedy past violations of women's 
        rights and human rights and to establish institutions and 
        programs to ensure policies that advance such rights;
            (3) the United States Government should make it a priority 
        to provide assistance to Afghan-led nongovernmental 
        organizations, particularly Afghan women-led nonprofit 
        organizations; and
            (4) grants and assistance to Afghanistan shall be 
        conditioned upon the Government of Afghanistan adhering to 
        international standards for women's rights and human rights.

SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO WOMEN AND GIRLS.

    Section 103(a)(7) of the Afghan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 
U.S.C. 7513(a)(7)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clauses (i) through 
        (xii) and inserting the following:
                            ``(i) to provide equipment, medical 
                        supplies, and other assistance to health care 
                        facilities for the purpose of reducing maternal 
                        and infant mortality and morbidity;
                            ``(ii) to establish and expand programs to 
                        provide services to women and girls suffering 
                        from posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, 
                        and mental illness;
                            ``(iii) to protect and provide services to 
                        vulnerable populations, including widows, 
                        orphans, and women head of households;
                            ``(iv) to establish primary and secondary 
                        schools for girls that include mathematics, 
                        science, and languages in their primary 
                        curriculum;
                            ``(v) to expand technical and vocational 
                        training programs to enable women to support 
                        themselves and their families;
                            ``(vi) to maintain and expand adult 
                        literacy programs, including economic literacy 
                        programs that promote the well-being of women 
                        and their families;
                            ``(vii) to provide special educational 
                        opportunities for girls whose schooling was 
                        ended by the Taliban and who now face obstacles 
                        to participating in the normal education 
                        system, such as girls who are now married and 
                        girls who are older than the normal age for 
                        their classes;
                            ``(viii) to disseminate information 
                        throughout Afghanistan on the rights of women 
                        and on international standards for human 
                        rights;
                            ``(ix) to provide information and 
                        assistance to enable women to exercise 
                        property, inheritance, and voting rights, and 
                        to ensure equal access to the judicial system;
                            ``(x) to monitor and investigate violations 
                        of women's rights and to provide legal 
                        assistance to women who have suffered 
                        violations of their rights;
                            ``(xi) to increase political and civil 
                        participation of women in all levels of 
                        society, including the criminal justice system;
                            ``(xii) to provide information and training 
                        related to women's rights and human rights to 
                        military, police, and legal personnel; and
                            ``(xiii) to provide assistance to the 
                        Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Independent 
                        Human Rights Commission for programs to advance 
                        the status of women.''; and
            (2) by restating subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
                    ``(B) Availability of funds.--For each of the 
                fiscal years 2007 through 2009--
                            ``(i) $5,000,000 is authorized to be 
                        appropriated to the President to be made 
                        available to the Afghan Ministry of Women's 
                        Affairs for the administration and conduct of 
                        its programs;
                            ``(ii) $10,000,000 is authorized to be 
                        appropriated to the President to be made 
                        available to the Afghan Independent Human 
                        Rights Commission for the administration and 
                        conduct of its programs; and
                            ``(iii) $30,000,000 is authorized to be 
                        appropriated to the President for grants to 
                        Afghan women-led nonprofit organizations to 
                        support activities including the construction, 
                        establishment, and operation of schools for 
                        married girls and girls' orphanages, vocational 
                        training for women and girls, health care 
                        clinics for women and children, programs to 
                        strengthen Afghan women-led organizations and 
                        women's leadership, and to provide monthly 
                        financial assistance to widows, orphans, and 
                        women head of households.''.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ASSISTANCE.

    It is the sense of Congress that, in providing assistance under 
section 103(a)(7) of the Afghan Freedom Support Act (22 U.S.C. 
7513(a)(7)), as amended by section 4, the President should--
            (1) condition the provision of such assistance on the 
        recipient adhering to international standards for women's 
        rights and human rights; and
            (2) ensure that Afghan women-led nongovernmental 
        organizations throughout Afghanistan with demonstrated 
        experience in delivering services to Afghan women and children 
        receive grants without ethnic, religious, or any other 
        discrimination.

SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Reports Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and every 6 months thereafter for 3 years, 
the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development shall jointly submit a report on 
the activities carried out under this Act to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
Committee on International Relations and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Content.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall 
include the amount of assistance provided under section 103(a)(7) of 
the Afghan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 7513(a)(7)), as 
amended by section 4, to--
            (1) the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs;
            (2) the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission; and
            (3) Afghan women-led nonprofit organizations.
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