[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 39 (Friday, March 9, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MARKING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

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                           HON. RUSS CARNAHAN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 9, 2012

  Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of 
International Women's Day. For more than 100 years, this important day 
has recognized the critical roles and contributions women play 
worldwide. International Women's Day reminds us of how far we've come 
and of how far we still need to go in order to achieve gender equality 
worldwide.
  Women continue to face serious challenges across our globe, 
particularly with access to health care, education, and economic 
opportunity. Women also are overwhelmingly the targets of human 
trafficking and gender-based violence. Today, women and girls are 
disproportionately burdened by extreme poverty, making up 70% of the 
world's one billion people who live off less than $1 per day.
  Here at home, we celebrate March as Women's History Month. The focus 
this year is ``Women's Education--Women's Empowerment'' which clearly 
reflects the goals of furthering gender equality worldwide. And it is 
no coincidence that one leads to the other. When women and girls have 
access to educational opportunities, their subsequent empowerment 
allows families and entire communities to flourish. And evidence shows 
that when these untapped agents of change are empowered to engage in 
the political process, governments are more effective and responsive to 
the needs of their people.
  For real progress in women's rights, we must take a comprehensive 
approach to combat all barriers to women's equality--physical, 
psychological, educational, economic, and cultural. Let's use this 
International Women's Day as an opportunity to reignite our commitment 
to gender equality here at home and around the globe.

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