[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 393 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 393

      Designating March 8, 2006, as ``International Women's Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2006

Mr. Biden submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Designating March 8, 2006, as ``International Women's Day''.

Whereas all over the world women are contributing to the growth of economies, 
        participating in the fields of diplomacy and politics, and improving the 
        quality of the lives of their families, communities, and nations;
Whereas discrimination continues to deny women full political and economic 
        equality and is often the basis for violations of basic human rights 
        against women;
Whereas the health and life of women and girls worldwide continues to be 
        endangered by violence that is directed at them simply because they are 
        women;
Whereas worldwide violence against women includes rape, genital mutilation, 
        sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, honor killings, 
        human trafficking, dowry-related violence, female infanticide, sex 
        selection abortion, forced pregnancy, forced sterilization, and forced 
        abortion;
Whereas at least 1 in 3 females worldwide has been beaten or sexually abused in 
        her lifetime;
Whereas 1 in 4 women in the United States has been raped or physically assaulted 
        by an intimate partner at some point in her life;
Whereas 20 percent to 50 percent of women worldwide experience some degree of 
        domestic violence during marriage;
Whereas, on average, 3 women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the 
        United States every day;
Whereas it is estimated that 1 in 5 adolescent girls in the United States 
        becomes a victim of physical or sexual abuse, or both, in a dating 
        relationship;
Whereas an estimated 135,000,000 women and girls of the world have undergone 
        genital mutilation, and 2,000,000 girls are at risk of mutilation each 
        year;
Whereas worldwide, women account for \1/2\ of all cases of the human 
        immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (referred 
        to in this preamble as ``HIV/AIDS'');
Whereas young women in Africa are 3 times more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than 
        men;
Whereas worldwide sexual violence, including marital rape, has been cited as a 
        major cause of the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS among women;
Whereas between 75 percent and 80 percent of the 27,000,000 refugees and 
        internally displaced persons of the world are women and children;
Whereas illegal trafficking for forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual 
        exploitation victimizes 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 women and girls 
        throughout the world each year;
Whereas \2/3\ of the nearly 1,000,000,000 illiterate individuals of the world 
        are women;
Whereas \2/3\ of children worldwide who are denied primary education are girls;
Whereas throughout the world, girls are less likely to complete school than 
        boys;
Whereas that educational failure has real consequences for the global economy 
        and the security of the United States, and especially for the millions 
        of girls with limitless potential who continue to lose the chance to 
        discover their worth and importance as global citizens;
Whereas girls who are educated are more likely to enjoy healthy and stable 
        families, lower mortality rates, higher nutrition levels, delayed sexual 
        activity, less chance of contracting HIV/AIDS, and less chance of having 
        unwanted pregnancies;
Whereas it is estimated that women and girls make up more than 70 percent of the 
        poorest people in the world;
Whereas in most nations, women work approximately twice the amount of unpaid 
        time that men do;
Whereas women work \2/3\ of the working hours of the world, and produce \1/2\ of 
        the food in the world, yet earn only 10 percent of the income in the 
        world, and own less than 1 percent of the property in the world;
Whereas rural women produce more than 55 percent of all food grown in developing 
        countries;
Whereas women worldwide still earn less, own less property, and have less access 
        to education, employment, and health care than do men;
Whereas there are 82,500,000 mothers of all ages in the United States;
Whereas approximately 3 in 10 United States households are maintained by women 
        with no husband present;
Whereas women comprise almost 15 percent of the active duty, reserve, and guard 
        units of the Armed Forces;
Whereas it is not enough to say women deserve a voice in politics;
Whereas nations should take steps to ensure the full participation and 
        representation of women in their conferences and committees, plenaries, 
        and parliaments;
Whereas social investment, particularly investments in women and girls, should 
        be an integral part of foreign policy;
Whereas the dedication and success of those working all over the world to end 
        violence against women and girls and fighting for equality should be 
        recognized;
Whereas special recognition is owed to 10 women fighting to make a difference in 
        their communities and around the globe, including the following: 
        Brigadier General Sheila R. Baxter, Commander, Madigan Army Medical 
        Center, Western Regional Medical Command; Sheryl Cates, Executive 
        Director of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the Texas Council 
        on Family Violence; Lora Jo Foo, Civil rights, labor activist, and 
        Managing Attorney at the Asian Law Caucus; Salma Hayek, Actress and 
        Domestic Violence Advocate; Asma Jehangir, Pakistani human rights 
        activist, author, and lawyer; Liz Lerman, Founder and leader of the Liz 
        Lerman Dance Exchange; Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize-winning 
        environmentalist and founder of the Green Belt Movement; Kavita N. 
        Ramdas, President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Women's Fund; 
        Bernice Johnson Reagon, singer, scholar, activist, and founder of Sweet 
        Honey in the Rock; and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, newly-elected President of 
        Liberia;
Whereas March 8 became known as ``International Women's Day'' during the last 
        century, and is a day on which people, often divided by ethnicity, 
        language, culture, and income, come together to celebrate a common 
        struggle for equality, justice, and peace for women; and
Whereas the people of the United States should be encouraged to participate in 
        ``International Women's Day'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates March 8, 2006, as ``International Women's 
        Day'';
            (2) reaffirms the commitment of the Senate to--
                    (A) improve access to quality health care;
                    (B) end and prevent violence against women, 
                including the trafficking of women and girls worldwide, 
                and ensure that the criminals who engage in those 
                activities are brought to justice;
                    (C) end discrimination and increase participation 
                of women in decision-making positions in the government 
                and private sectors;
                    (D) extend full economic opportunities to women, 
                including access to microfinance and microenterprise; 
                and
                    (E) strengthen the role of women as agents of 
                peace, because women are among the best emissaries when 
                it comes to easing religious, racial, and ethnic 
                tensions, crossing cultural divides, and reducing 
                violence in areas of war and conflict; and
            (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
        ``International Women's Day'' with appropriate programs and 
        activities.
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