[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 198 (Monday, November 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8102-S8103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4586. Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. Ernst, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. 
Collins, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Peters) submitted 
an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by 
Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle B of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1220L. STATUS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN AFGHANISTAN.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Since May 2021, the escalation of violent conflict in 
     Afghanistan has forcibly displaced an estimated 655,000 
     civilians, and 80 percent of those forced to flee are women 
     and children.
       (2) Since regaining control of Afghanistan in August 2021, 
     the Taliban have taken actions reminiscent of their brutal 
     rule in the late 1990s, including by cracking down on 
     protesters, detaining and beating journalists, reestablishing 
     the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of 
     Vice, and requiring women to study at universities in gender-
     segregated classrooms while wearing Islamic attire.
       (3) Until the Taliban assumed control of the country in 
     August 2021, the women and girls of Afghanistan had achieved 
     much since

[[Page S8103]]

     2001, even as insecurity, poverty, underdevelopment, and 
     patriarchal norms continued to limit their rights and 
     opportunities in much of Afghanistan.
       (4) Through strong support from the United States and the 
     international community--
       (A) female enrollment in public schools in Afghanistan 
     continued to increase through 2015, with an estimated high of 
     50 percent of school age girls attending; and
       (B) by 2019--
       (i) women held political leadership positions, and women 
     served as ambassadors; and
       (ii) women served as professors, judges, prosecutors, 
     defense attorneys, police, military members, health 
     professionals, journalists, humanitarian and developmental 
     aid workers, and entrepreneurs.
       (5) Efforts to empower women and girls in Afghanistan 
     continue to serve the national interests of Afghanistan and 
     the United States because women are sources of peace and 
     economic progress.
       (6) With the return of Taliban control, the United States 
     has little ability to preserve the human rights of women and 
     girls in Afghanistan, and those women and girls may again 
     face the intimidation and marginalization they faced under 
     the last Taliban regime.
       (7) Women and girls in Afghanistan are again facing gender-
     based violence, including--
       (A) forced marriage;
       (B) intimate partner and domestic violence;
       (C) sexual harassment;
       (D) sexual violence, including rape;
       (E) denial of resources; and
       (F) emotional and psychological violence.
       (8) Gender-based violence has always been a significant 
     problem in Afghanistan and is expected to become more 
     widespread with the Taliban in control. In 2020, even before 
     the Taliban assumed control of the country, Human Rights 
     Watch projected that 87 percent of Afghan women and girls 
     will experience at least one form of gender-based violence in 
     their lifetime, with 62 percent experiencing multiple 
     incidents of such violence.
       (9) Prior to the Taliban takeover in August 2021, 
     approximately 7,000,000 people in Afghanistan lacked or had 
     limited access to essential health services as a result of 
     inadequate public health coverage, weak health systems, and 
     conflict-related interruptions in care.
       (10) Women and girls faced additional challenges, as their 
     access to life-saving services, such as emergency obstetric 
     services, was limited due to a shortage of female medical 
     staff, cultural barriers, stigma and fears of reprisals 
     following sexual violence, or other barriers to mobility, 
     including security fears.
       (11) Only approximately 50 percent of pregnant women and 
     girls in Afghanistan deliver their children in a health 
     facility with a professional attendant, which increases the 
     risk of complications in childbirth and preventable maternal 
     mortality.
       (12) Food insecurity in Afghanistan is also posing a 
     variety of threats to women and girls, as malnutrition 
     weakens their immune systems and makes them more susceptible 
     to infections, complications during pregnancy, and risks 
     during childbirth.
       (13) With the combined impacts of ongoing conflict and 
     COVID-19, Afghan households increasingly resort to child 
     marriage, forced marriage, and child labor to address food 
     insecurity and other effects of extreme poverty.
       (14) In Afghanistan, the high prevalence of anemia among 
     adolescent girls reduces their ability to survive childbirth, 
     especially when coupled with high rates of child marriage and 
     forced marriage and barriers to accessing safe health 
     services and information.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) since 2001, organizations and networks promoting the 
     empowerment of women and girls have been important engines of 
     social, economic, and political development in Afghanistan;
       (2) any future political order in Afghanistan should secure 
     the political, economic, and social gains made by Afghan 
     women and work to increase the equal treatment of women and 
     girls and improve the safe access for women and girls to 
     essential services and information through laws and policies 
     pertaining to public and private life;
       (3) respecting the human rights of all people is essential 
     to securing lasting peace and sustainable development in 
     Afghanistan;
       (4) in cooperation with international partners, the United 
     States must endeavor to preserve the hard-won gains made in 
     Afghanistan during the past two decades, particularly as 
     related to the social, economic and political empowerment of 
     women and girls in society;
       (5) the continued provision of humanitarian assistance in 
     Afghanistan should be targeted toward the most vulnerable, 
     including for the protection, education, and well-being of 
     women and girls;
       (6) immediate and ongoing humanitarian needs in Afghanistan 
     can only be met by a humanitarian response that includes 
     formal agreements between local nongovernmental organizations 
     and international partners that promotes the safe access and 
     participation of female staff at all levels and across 
     functional roles among all humanitarian actors; and
       (7) a lack of aid and essential services would exacerbate 
     the current humanitarian crisis and serve to reinforce gender 
     inequalities and power imbalances in Afghanistan.
       (c) Policy of the United States Regarding the Rights of 
     Women and Girls of Afghanistan.--
       (1) In general.--It is the policy of the United States--
       (A) to continue to support the human rights of women and 
     girls in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the United 
     States Armed Forces from Afghanistan, including through 
     mechanisms to hold all parties publicly accountable for 
     violations of international humanitarian law and human rights 
     violations against women and girls;
       (B) to strongly oppose any weakening of the rights of women 
     and girls in Afghanistan;
       (C) to use the voice and influence of the United States at 
     the United Nations to promote, respect, and uphold the human 
     rights of the women and girls of Afghanistan, including the 
     right to safely work;
       (D) to identify individuals who violate the human rights of 
     women and girls in Afghanistan, as those rights are defined 
     by international human rights standards, such as by 
     committing acts of murder, lynching, and grievous domestic 
     violence against women, and to press for bringing those 
     individuals to justice;
       (E) to systematically consult with Afghan women and girls 
     on their needs and priorities in the development, 
     implementation, and monitoring of humanitarian action, 
     including women and girls who are part of the Afghan diaspora 
     community; and
       (F) to ensure all humanitarian action is informed by--
       (i) a gender analysis that identifies forms of inequality 
     and oppression; and
       (ii) the collection, analysis, and use of data 
     disaggregated by sex and age.
       (d) Humanitarian Assistance and Afghan Women.--The 
     Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
     Development should work to ensure that Afghan women are 
     employed and enabled to work in the delivery of humanitarian 
     assistance in Afghanistan, to the extent practicable.
       (e) Report on Women and Girls in Afghanistan.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter 
     through 2024, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes the 
     following:
       (A) An assessment of the status of women and girls in 
     Afghanistan following the departure of United States and 
     partner military forces, including with respect to access to 
     primary and secondary education, jobs, health care, and legal 
     protections and status.
       (B) An assessment of the political and civic participation 
     of women and girls in Afghanistan.
       (C) An assessment of the prevalence of gender-based 
     violence in Afghanistan.
       (D) A report on funds for United States foreign assistance 
     obligated or expended during the period covered by the report 
     to advance gender equality and the human rights of women and 
     girls in Afghanistan, including funds directed toward local 
     organizations promoting the rights of women and girls.
       (2) Assessment.--
       (A) Input.--The assessment described in paragraph (1)(A) 
     shall include the input of--
       (i) Afghan women and girls;
       (ii) organizations employing and working with Afghan women 
     and girls; and
       (iii) humanitarian organizations providing assistance in 
     Afghanistan.
       (B) Safety and confidentiality.--In carrying out the 
     assessment described in paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary 
     shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure the safety 
     and confidentiality of personal information of each 
     individual who provides information from within Afghanistan.
       (3) Definition of appropriate committees of congress.--In 
     this subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of 
     Congress'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
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