110 HRES 1409 IH: Recognizing the great strides made by the U.S. House of Representatives 2008-08-01 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1409 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES August 1, 2008 Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Ms. Sutton, Ms. Hirono, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Honda, Mr. McGovern, and Mr. Fattah) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Recognizing the great strides made by the majority of countries participating in the Summer Olympic Games to increase the participation of women in sports and in the Summer Olympic Games, calling on the International Olympic Committee and all countries to take concrete steps to increase the participation of women in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Olympic Charter states that any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement; Whereas the Olympic Charter states that the role of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is to encourage and support the promotion of women in sports at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women; Whereas on March 10, 2008, at the 4th IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, held in the Kingdom of Jordan, “The Dead Sea Plan of Action” was adopted, expressing “the need to use every opportunity available in the Olympic Movement to advance the cause of women in sport and through sport”; Whereas there were no women participants at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, but by 2004 women were on delegations from all but nine of the 201 countries participating in the Summer Olympic Games; Whereas the number of women athletes participating in the Summer Olympic Games exceeded 4,000 for the first time at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games and in 2008 will set a new record of over 4,400, or 42 percent of the total number of athletes participating in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games; Whereas women will compete in 26 of 28 sports and 45 percent of the events at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games; Whereas at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, Robina Muqimyar, who ran the 100 meters, and Friba Razayee, who competed in judo, became the first women from Afghanistan to compete in the Summer Olympic Games; Whereas Dana Al-Nasrallah, who ran the 100 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, became the first woman from Kuwait to compete in the Summer Olympic Games; Whereas the United Arab Emirates encourages the participation of women in sports, and Her Highness Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who will compete in taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, will become the first woman from the United Arab Emirates to compete in the Summer Olympic Games; Whereas Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen are the only countries not sending women athletes to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games; Whereas participating in sports can help young women increase self-esteem and prepare for leadership roles in society; and Whereas removing barriers to the participation of women in sports creates a more inclusive society and promotes equal rights for all citizens: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)recognizes the great strides made by the majority of countries participating in the Summer Olympic Games to increase the participation of women in the Summer Olympic Games and sports in general; (2)applauds the many countries with policies that enable the participation of women in sports to coexist with traditional cultural and religious practices; (3)calls on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to advocate for improved opportunities for women to participate in sports, and to work with all countries to provide financial support and adequate facilities for women athletes; and (4)urges the IOC and all countries to increase efforts to enhance the participation of women in sports both domestically and internationally, to strive to make the 2012 Summer Olympic Games the first at which women are on delegations from every participating country, and to ensure a new record number of women competitors at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.