[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 8, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H650-H651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                COMMEMORATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to commemorate International 
Women's Day. As cochair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, 
I am proud to be a part of a daylong shadow program working side by 
side with Iraqi women and members of the Transnational Assembly. In 
fact, my guest is here in the Chamber, Dr. Faiza Babakhan, who 
represents the National Assembly.
  In just 11 days, we will mark the third anniversary of the United 
States' invasion of Iraq. While U.S. involvement in Iraq in the past 3 
years has caused much controversy in our country, we can all agree that 
increasing Iraqi women's rights and political representation should be 
a priority.
  Through the continued collaboration of American and Iraqi women in 
government, we can advance women's rights and women's issues around the 
world. But today we must also acknowledge the violence and human rights 
issues that affect women in places like Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and in 
Guatemala where murders of women have gone unpunished for many years.

[[Page H651]]

  On International Women's Day, we must remember that violence and 
injustice against women anywhere is violence and injustice against 
women everywhere.

                          ____________________