[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 31, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TREATMENT OF AFGHAN WOMEN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 31, 2001

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity 
to speak on this very urgent issue of the treatment of the women in 
Afghanistan.
  Yesterday, on Good Morning America, several video clips flashed 
across the television secretly depicting the horrific and brutal 
treatment of women in Afghanistan.
  The first clip showed a woman leaving her home dressed in her full 
burqa, but missing the shroud that covers her face. A man who obviously 
was not her husband or even relative proceeded to beat her. What was 
even more shocking was that passersby were not affected by the scene. 
Such occurrences have become part of their everyday lives. Incredibly, 
the beating of women for `disciplinary' as well as entertainment 
reasons is a routine phenomenon in Afghanistan under the Taliban, an 
extremist Islamic sect.
  The second clip showed the Taliban executing a woman accused of 
killing her abusive husband. Although the husband's family forgave the 
woman because she bore his seven children, a Taliban fighter was still 
ordered to shoot her in the back of her head with an automatic rifle 
because she was ``too guilty to be forgiven.''
  How can we allow this type of treatment of women to continue?
  With the coming to power of Islamic fundamentalists, women's right to 
fully participate in the social, economic, cultural and political life 
of the country was drastically curtailed and later on abruptly denied 
them by the Taliban.
  Women are totally deprived of the right to education, of the right to 
work, of the right to travel, of the right to health care, of the right 
to legal recourse, of the right to recreation, and of the right to 
being human.
  Some of the heinous restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women in 
Afghanistan include: coverage with burqa from head to toe; the whipping 
of women in public for having non-covered ankles; a ban on women 
laughing loudly; and a ban on women wearing brightly colored clothes. 
Women are prohibited from going outside, except for a government-
sanctioned purpose.
  Women's freedoms were virtually wiped out when the Taliban took over 
Afghanistan in 1996. Women became subject to a horrific system of 
gender apartheid whereby they are prohibited from working, attending 
school, and leaving their homes without a male relative and, as I 
described earlier, without wearing the head-to-toe burga shroud.
  Islamic fundamentalism, in essence, looks upon women as subhumans, 
fit only for household slavery and as a means of procreation.
  This outrageous view of women was incredibly elevated to the status 
of official policy when the ignorant Taliban took control of 90 percent 
of Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul. For example, female 
education from kindergarten to graduate was banned; employment for 
women is banned.
  Taliban restrictions have driven women in Afghanistan to commit 
suicide. An educated 20-year old woman burned herself with petrol as a 
way out of all her miseries that had poisoned her for years. After 
being found with her self-inflicted burns, her family took her to a 
hospital, but the facility was lacking a physician and proper medical 
treatment. It was too late to save her life.
  Prior to the Taliban regime, women in Afghanistan enjoyed equal 
rights with men under the Afghan Constitution. Seventy percent of the 
teachers in Kabul were women, 50 percent were civil servants and 
university students, and 40 percent were doctors.
  Many organizations have been working to help these women. We as 
Members of Congress must find a way to restore rights and human dignity 
of the women of Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for allowing me this time to raise awareness 
on the treatment of women in Afghanistan.

                          ____________________