[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 166 (Wednesday, November 20, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8344-S8346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise tonight to talk about the matter
that is before us, which is the National Defense Authorization Act. I
don't think
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we have to make a fulsome argument tonight that it is very important we
pass this authorization act for the fundamental purpose of making sure
we can, at a minimum, complete action in the very near future on
authorizing a whole range of programs that keep our people safe and
ensure our national security. I am confident we will do that, but that
is vitally important.
I rise tonight to talk about one aspect of that challenge--and,
again, it is just one part of our national security interest--relating
specifically to what has been happening in Afghanistan over the last
decade, and particularly to women and girls in Afghanistan. The
amendment I have introduced and will be speaking on behalf of tonight
is amendment No. 2172, which regards the security of Afghan women and
girls.
For the past 12 years, United States servicemembers have been
deployed in Afghanistan fighting the insurgency there. Their
sacrifice--the sacrifices of our own people--have created a space for
Afghan democracy to take root and for a civil society to develop. It is
imperative as we draw down U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan we remain
focused on the United States long-term strategic interest in the
region. It is in the United States national security interest for
Afghanistan to remain stable, secure, and democratic.
We have seen from a distance what life under the Taliban looks like
in Afghanistan when the Taliban was in charge. We also can see with the
perspective of recent history what it has looked like since the Taliban
was removed. A return to their rule, however, will not only set back
the progress that has been made, but it will also allow the forces of
intolerance and extremism to triumph.
So 2014 marks a significant transition in Afghanistan. U.S. and
coalition forces will draw down while voters will go to the polls to
choose their second democratically elected president.
We are considering this year's National Defense Authorization Act
with just 6 weeks remaining before the beginning of 2014. Our military
families are welcoming back soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who
have seen more than a decade of conflict in Afghanistan. When I meet--
as I know the Presiding Officer and other Members of the Senate do--
with servicemembers who have served in Afghanistan, I never forget--as
none of us must ever forget--their sacrifice, their determination, and
their valor. Since October of 2001, Americans have fought for a stable,
prosperous, and democratic Afghanistan.
On my trips to Afghanistan, which now number three, I have come to
understand that women and girls often display remarkable courage but
are often the most vulnerable targets. But great progress has been
made, and I will just mention a couple of examples.
About a decade ago, almost no girls were in school in Afghanistan--
very close to, if not, zero. The number of Afghan girls in school now
is 2.4 million, and women represent more than 27 percent of Afghans
serving in parliament. A small but brave corps of women has joined the
Afghan National Security Forces in service to their country. None of
this would have been possible just a little more than a decade ago--12
years ago.
Whenever I meet with them, Afghan women emphasize they are not
willing to give up--nor should they be--on the gains they have achieved
with help from the American people. Just yesterday I met with Nilofar
Sakhi, who is working to promote women in the workforce. Hearing her
commitment to advancing the role of women firsthand, as I did
yesterday, further motivated me to introduce and advance this
amendment.
During my last trip to Afghanistan I met with Fawzia Koofi, who is an
inspiring lawmaker and women's rights advocate. As a mother of two
young daughters, she has worked to instill the importance of education
and to make sure her daughters understand that. She now serves in a
leadership role in the Afghan parliament.
I would also mention when we were meeting with her she talked about
how both her father and her husband had been killed because they were
politically active. Yet even in the face of that, she has put herself
forward to serve in public office in Afghanistan.
A third example, another brave woman showing the people of the world
what it means to serve and to act even in the face of danger, is Suraya
Pakhzad, who lives in Herat. Ms. Pakhzad recently traveled to the
United States and visited not just my home State of Pennsylvania but
literally the county I live in and impressed the people there, as she
always does. Suraya is a true entrepreneur and philanthropist. With
U.S. government support she has opened a women's shelter in Baghdis
province. That is just the beginning of what we could say about her
service. We don't have enough time tonight to give more examples, but
Suraya has been a great example to me and to so many others.
These three inspiring stories I have talked about are just a few of
the many, but I am deeply concerned--and I know a lot of people are--
that we have already begun to see the progress on Afghans women's
rights and security being rolled back. In an effort to honor the
sacrifice the American people have made to help women and girls in
Afghanistan, I, along with Senator Ayotte, have introduced an amendment
to this authorization act to ensure those gains are not degraded. The
amendment is No. 2172, and I am grateful to Senator Ayotte for her work
and for her leadership on this issue.
It is clear as can be that the security of Afghan women and girls is
not simply about their own security and its value and importance. It is
also critically important to the long-term future of the country. We
know if more women and girls are allowed to be educated--to go to
school and to learn, and to grow and to achieve--that, in and of
itself, has an economic impact, a positive impact, on a woman and her
family but also on the economy of Afghanistan. The question is what
steps are we going to take to ensure not just their own security but
the security of the country. If they advance, if women and girls in
Afghanistan advance, Afghanistan will be a safer place. It is likely
the threat of terrorism will be reduced because of the direct
involvement of women in the economy and in the life of the people in
Afghanistan.
Let me quickly summarize what the amendment does. First, it focuses
on political transition. Afghanistan will hold, as I mentioned before,
historic elections in April. As the country votes for a president--a
president that will help Afghanistan transition from conflict--it is
critical that women not be disenfranchised. Therefore, this amendment
seeks to ensure the adequate staffing of polling stations by female
officers.
Second, the other part of the transition, of course, is the security
transition. This bill would also improve awareness and responsiveness
among Afghan National Security Forces personnel regarding the unique
challenges that women confront. It will also focus on the recruitment
and retention of women in the Afghan National Security Forces.
It would be, to use just one word, unconscionable to abandon the
women and girls of Afghanistan who have made such great progress. If we
take steps that lead to the abandonment of women and girls in
Afghanistan during this transition--this drawdown--we will be making a
terrible mistake, and we will not have honored the sacrifice of our own
service men and women, and we will be harming the important transition
that is taking place in Afghanistan.
This legislation will demonstrate not just our commitment and
dedication to this important goal but it will also ensure a much
brighter future not just for that young girl or woman in Afghanistan
and their family, but it will ensure literally a safer and more secure
and much less extreme situation in Afghanistan, when we consider all of
the threats that are present there on a daily basis.
So I urge my colleagues to support in this authorization process
amendment No. 2172, and I again want to commend and salute the work of
Senator Ayotte on this very important priority for the United States.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Pennsylvania
Senator Casey for his leadership on amendment No. 2172, which is very
important. I appreciate what he just said on the floor--the cases of
the bravery of Afghan women, the leadership they
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have shown under tremendously difficult circumstances, and the
sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made to ensure that
Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorists again.
One of the keys to that is that no society can be free, no society
can have true safety and security unless the women in the society also
have safety and security. So I thank Senator Casey for his leadership
in ensuring that we stand by the Afghan women because we cannot succeed
in Afghanistan if women go back to what they endured under the Taliban,
which was horrific and was wrong, and none of us should accept.
So Senator Casey really has been a leader, and I thank him for being
so concerned about what will happen in Afghanistan and working to make
sure it never becomes a haven for terrorists again; that women in
Afghanistan can live with security; that women and girls can go to
school; that they can contribute to Afghan society and take part in
free elections; and that Afghanistan will be a place where women will
no longer be brought into soccer stadiums and violated.
So I thank Senator Casey for this amendment and bringing it forward.
I am very proud to cosponsor it. As Senator Casey mentioned, our
amendment would ensure adequate staffing at polling stations by female
officers so that when they have elections, this would improve the
security of those stations, making sure women can come forward and
vote. It would increase the awareness and responsiveness among Afghan
National Army and national police personnel regarding the unique
challenges women confront when joining those forces. Yes, women--some
of them--are now joining the Afghan security forces to defend their
nation.
The amendment would focus on improving the recruitment and retention
of women in Afghan security forces, and it would ensure that as we
enter the bilateral security agreement that DOD will produce a strategy
to promote the security of Afghan women and girls.
These issues are very important. I commend our men and women in
uniform for everything they have done in Afghanistan to prevent
Afghanistan from being a haven for terrorists and to ensure that women
and girls can live securely and won't be violated the way they were
when the Taliban was in charge of Afghanistan. The images so many of us
saw were beyond the word ``outrageous.'' We can't even describe the
horrific way women and girls were treated--worse than second-class
citizens--under the Taliban.
This amendment will ensure what we all understand to be the bottom
line: that no strategy in Afghanistan can succeed if women are not an
integral part of that strategy, if women aren't allowed to have the
security, the dignity, and the freedom all people deserve.
I thank Senator Casey for his leadership. I hope my colleagues in the
Senate will adopt this amendment because last year when we considered
Defense authorization, the Senate passed a similar provision by
unanimous consent. So I hope my colleagues will do the same and pass
the Casey-Ayotte amendment to promote the security of Afghan women and
girls; as we look to the bilateral security agreement, as we look to
working with our coalition partners as we are drawing down in
Afghanistan, we will not leave the Afghan women and girls behind and we
will ensure that Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorists
again.
I thank Senator Casey for allowing me to speak on this very important
issue.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.
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