[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 12, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1915-S1916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 418--RECOGNIZING HAFSAT ABIOLA, KHANIM LATIF, YOANI
SANCHEZ, AND AKANKSHA HAZARI FOR THEIR SELFLESSNESS AND DEDICATION TO
THEIR RESPECTIVE CAUSES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 418
Whereas women's leadership in the world is critical to
shaping and addressing world events and decreasing global
instability;
Whereas women leaders play an integral role in fighting
against transnational organized crime, human trafficking, and
violence against women, including honor killings, and female
genital mutilation;
Whereas changing the trajectory of these dynamics requires
empowering women leaders to advance economic opportunity and
increase political and public leadership;
Whereas women leaders have selflessly sacrificed, and in
some cases placed their lives at risk, to advance causes that
will better their communities, their nations, and the world;
Whereas Hafsat Abiola of Nigeria, founder of the Kudirat
Initiative for Democracy, campaigns to end violence against
women, trains young female leaders, and works to increase
civic participation;
Whereas Khanim Latif of Iraq, the Director of Asuda, places
her life at risk to provide safe haven to victims of sexual
and gender-based violence, and fights threats of honor
killings and female genital cutting;
Whereas Yoani Sanchez of Cuba, founder of ``Generacion Y'',
created a blog that captures daily life in Cuba as an effort
to encourage political change and increase public awareness
and engagement;
Whereas Akanksha Hazari of India fights to deliver basic
necessities such as clean water and electricity to
impoverished communities and to empower the underserved in
India; and
Whereas each of these leaders serves as a role model and an
inspiration to help change the lives of others: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes Hafsat Abiola, Khanim Latif, Yoani Sanchez,
and Akanksha Hazari for their selflessness and dedication to
their respective causes; and
(2) commends their efforts to advance economic opportunity,
increase political and public leadership, combat violence
against women, and empower women to address global
instability.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to honor and congratulate the
Vital Voices Global Partnership and the 2016 Vital Voices Award
recipients: Hafsat Abiola, Khanim Latif, Yoani Sanchez, and Akanksha
Hazari.
The Vital Voices Global Partnership identifies, invests in, and
brings visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing
their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and
prosperity. Vital Voices equips such leaders with the management,
business development, marketing, and communications skills required to
expand their enterprises, to provide for their families, and create
jobs in their communities. Vital Voices seeks to empower these women
leaders to create a better world for us all.
The Vital Voices Global Partnership has trained and mentored over
14,000 women in 144 countries over the last 15 years, in addition to
this year's award recipients Hafsat Abiola of Nigeria, founder of the
Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, campaigns to end violence against
women, trains young female leaders, and works to increase civic
participation. Khanim Latif of Iraq, the Director of Asuda, places her
life at risk to provide safe haven to victims of sexual and gender-
based violence, and fights threats of honor killings and female genital
cutting. Yoani Sanchez of Cuba, founder of ``Generacion Y'', created a
blog that captures daily life in Cuba in an effort to encourage
political change and increase public awareness and engagement; and
Akanksha Hazari of India fights to deliver basic necessities such as
clean water and electricity to impoverished communities and to empower
the underserved in India.
Such leaders, supported by the Vital Voices Global Partnership Fund,
and through their selfless efforts and advocacy, continue to advance
social justice, support democracy, and strengthen the rule of law
across the globe.
With this in mind, I am pleased to offer this resolution with Senator
Feinstein.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise in support of a resolution,
submitted by Senator Collins, to honor four women recently recognized
by the Vital Voices Global Partnership.
This is a global organization that identifies, supports, and
highlights women around the world who exhibit leadership to transform
their communities.
I am pleased to sponsor this resolution with Senator Collins.
The four women honored by this resolution are leaders who have made a
true difference in their countries in the face of adversity.
Hafsat Abiola of Nigeria founded the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy
to end violence against women in Nigeria and remove barriers for the
civic participation of women. She has been actively working on gender
equality and women's leadership in Nigeria since she was a teenager,
and continues to advance women's rights.
Khanim Latif of Iraq is the Director of Asuda, which works to combat
sexual and gender-based violence in Iraq. She has worked on gender-
based violence issues in Iraq for over 15 years,
[[Page S1916]]
and has helped provide refuge to women subjected to horrific violence
in her country, including to those who have been subjected to ISIL's
violent campaign against the region's Yazidi population.
Yoani Sanchez of Cuba founded ``Generacion Y,'' a platform to capture
daily life in Cuba as an effort to encourage political change. It
stemmed from her personal experiences growing up in Cuba, and the
experiences of her family.
Akanksha Hazari of India works to empower impoverished, rural
communities in India. She has done this by pioneering a loyalty
program--through mobile phones--to provide social goods such as clean
water to rural customers in India.
These women were recognized by Vital Voices because they have made
significant strides to better the communities in which they live, and
they continue to do so.
The resolution, submitted by Senator Collins and myself, further
recognizes their contributions, and I hope that we can all draw
inspiration from their leadership.
I congratulate these women, and look forward to hearing about their
continued success.
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