[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 90 (Monday, May 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S3337]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 229--RECOGNIZING THE DEVASTATING ATTACK ON A GIRLS' 
SCHOOL IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN ON MAY 8, 2021, AND EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY 
                         WITH THE AFGHAN PEOPLE

  Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 229

       Whereas on May 8, 2021, a car bomb and several other 
     mechanisms were detonated at the front gates of the Sayed Ul-
     Shuhada High School in Kabul, killing more than 85 people, 
     many of whom were girls attending the school;
       Whereas, the attack took place as the girls and their 
     families prepared to celebrate Eid al-Fitr;
       Whereas the school provides education to the Dasht-e Barchi 
     neighborhood, an underserved area of Kabul where many members 
     of the Hazara minority community live;
       Whereas the Hazara in Dasht-e Barchi have been the target 
     of extremist violence for many years;
       Whereas on March 12, 2020, assailants attacked a maternity 
     hospital in Dasht-e Barchi, killing 24 people including 2 
     newborn babies, mothers, and members of the hospital staff;
       Whereas, 1 of those killed in the attack on the hospital 
     was Maryam Noorzad--
       (1) who was a midwife serving the Hazara community;
       (2) who dedicated her life to providing access to 
     healthcare to women in remote parts of Afghanistan;
       (3) who was murdered after refusing to leave the bedside of 
     a patient in labor; and
       (4) whose bravery was recognized by the Department of State 
     with an honorary International Women of Courage award;
       Whereas, Afghan girls were restricted from accessing an 
     education under the Taliban, forcing some girls to dress up 
     as boys in order to attend secret schools and continue their 
     education;
       Whereas, according to a report by the Office of the 
     Director of National Intelligence--
       (1) there are approximately 3,500,000 girls among the 
     9,000,000 children who are enrolled in school in Afghanistan;
       (2) only 17 percent of girls in rural parts of Afghanistan 
     attend school, while 45 percent of girls in urban areas in 
     Afghanistan attend school;
       (3) 80 percent of Afghan women older than 15 years of age 
     are illiterate; and
       (4) schools are increasingly being forced to close due to 
     rising insecurity;
       Whereas, the education of girls is a necessary requirement 
     for any country to achieve long-term stability and peace;
       Whereas the attack coincides with an escalation of violence 
     in Afghanistan, perpetrated by the Taliban, the Islamic State 
     of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and other terrorist 
     organizations;
       Whereas the recent escalation in violence has 
     disproportionately impacted women, who have been targeted 
     while working as reporters, administering vaccines, serving 
     in prominent positions, and helping their communities:
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) extends its heartfelt condolences to, and stands with, 
     the people of Afghanistan and the Hazara community;
       (2) condemns all forms of violence against women and girls 
     in Afghanistan;
       (3) supports United States and international efforts to 
     ensure that girls in Afghanistan are able to safely attend 
     school;
       (4) affirms that the United States should continue to 
     provide assistance to support the rights of women and girls 
     to achieve an education;
       (5) calls on the Government of Afghanistan to support 
     girls' education and to ensure that girls are able to safely 
     attend school;
       (6) calls for international condemnation of violence 
     against Afghan women and girls, and
       (7) asks the international community to devote the 
     resources and attention necessary to provide for the 
     continued safe education of girls in Afghanistan.

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