[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 93 (Monday, July 17, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H5249-H5250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RAISING AWARENESS OF AND FUNDING FOR RADIO AL MAHABA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the House will take up H. Res. 
784, a resolution I introduced that honors Radio Al Mahaba, an Iraqi 
radio station that offers the Middle East's only programming for women. 
The station began broadcasting on April 1, 2005, as an educational tool 
for the women of Iraq.
  Historically, Iraqi women were extremely well educated, but the 
educational oppression brought on by Saddam Hussein led to the 
illiteracy rate for women rising to 75 percent. Saddam's regime drove 
women back to confinement and the extremists restricted them with harsh 
rules and practices, mostly imported from Iran and Saudi Arabia.
  After Saddam was ousted, the women of Iraq needed some way to reach 
out to all women nationwide, to talk to them directly and provide help.
  Bushra Jamil, an Iraqi who was living in Canada, saw this as an 
opportunity to empower the women of Iraq as it transitioned to a 
democracy. Bushra returned home and created Radio Al Mahaba.
  Once the station began broadcasting, the response from Iraqi women 
was astonishing. Radio Al Mahaba programs

[[Page H5250]]

included news, call-in talk shows, covering various legal, health and 
educational topics, as well as music programs. The station became so 
popular that they were broadcasting 16 hours a day in three languages: 
Arabic, Kurdish and English.
  While we take radio shows that cater to women for granted, this was a 
revolutionary concept in the Middle East. Women who had been oppressed 
for years were finally able to hear their side of the story. And Radio 
Al Mahaba provided a forum for women to make sure that their voices 
were heard.
  The station received 100 calls a day from women asking questions, 
giving advice and voicing their opinions of how to rebuild their 
country. The radio station had found an audience, and they were 
financially in good shape as well from new sponsorships.
  But last October, Radio Al Mahaba fell silent. The terrorist attack 
on the Palestinian Hotel in Baghdad destroyed their transmitter. And 
while the radio station was not the target of this attack, many leaders 
in Iraq were not all that upset that these women's voices were silenced 
once again.
  But the women of Radio Al Mahaba were resilient. They found another 
transmitter, but it wasn't as powerful as the one they lost during the 
terrorist attack. The new transmitter could only reach about one-third 
of their listening audience. And less listeners meant less sponsorship 
revenue for the station.
  Unfortunately, the rented transmitter died about a month ago, and 
they are in desperate need of funds to get back on the air. Once they 
receive this funding, they plan to expand listening audiences to 
include all of Iraq and its neighbors. They also plan on broadcasting 
in Persian to reach the women of Iran, who have been oppressed for 
nearly 30 years.
  If democracy in Iraq is going to succeed, women will have to play a 
role, a vital role, in making sure that it goes forward. The radio 
station can be the place for women in Iraq and throughout the Middle 
East to learn about the issues that will affect their lives. It allows 
them place to be heard without often violent consequences for the first 
time in their lives.
  The right to educate yourself and to be heard are cornerstones of our 
democracy, and these characteristics should be carried over to the new 
Iraq.
  At this point in Iraq's history, the station is in the midst of a 
battle. But not just a military battle, but also in the battle for 
Iraqi women's rights against fundamentalists.
  The station's 28 full-time and part-time staff risk their lives every 
day to make sure that the voices are heard. Despite this terrible risk, 
they are all very dedicated because, in one of the staffer's words, 
``they want to reach out and touch people's lives. They want to give 
hope and knowledge, empowerment support and the passage of freedom to 
Iraqi women.''
  Mr. Speaker, I recently had a chance to talk to President Bush about 
this station and he was very enthusiastic about the role it will play 
in democracy in Iraq. It is my hope that the passage of tomorrow's 
resolution honoring the radio station will raise awareness and find 
funding for the station so they can continue their message of hope to 
the women of the Middle East.

                          ____________________