[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 65 (Thursday, April 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1031-E1032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE ``AFGHAN WOMEN EMPOWERMENT ACT OF 2009''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 2009

  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, today, along with Representative Tammy 
Baldwin (D-WI), I am reintroducing the ``Afghan Women Empowerment Act 
of 2009.'' This legislation would authorize $115 million each year from 
FY2010 through FY2012 for programs in Afghanistan that benefit women 
and girls as well as the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights 
Commission and the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs. The funding 
would be directed toward important needs including medical care, 
education, vocational training, legal assistance, protection against 
trafficking, and civil

[[Page E1032]]

participation. Senator Boxer has introduced similar legislation, S. 
229, in the Senate.
  Although women are guaranteed equal rights in the Afghan 
constitution, they continue to face challenges including intimidation, 
discrimination, targeted violence, and efforts to restrict their legal 
rights. In March the parliament of Afghanistan approved the Shi'ite 
Personal Status Law which was signed by President Karzai. According to 
the United Nations, one provision of the law would have the effect of 
legalizing marital rape by mandating that a wife cannot refuse sex to 
her husband unless she is ill. In addition, the law would forbid women 
from working or receiving education without their husbands' permission; 
restrict their ability to leave the house without a male relative; and 
aims to strip women of their rights as mothers by granting child 
custody only to men. President Karzai has ordered that the law be 
reviewed, and has said that changes will be made to any articles which 
contradict Afghanistan's Constitution and Islamic Sharia. I believe 
that the United States has an obligation to ensure that women and girls 
have the opportunities that they were denied under the Taliban. It is 
imperative that we provide the support needed to ensure that the rights 
of women are protected in the new Afghanistan.

                          ____________________