[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 206 (Tuesday, November 30, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8835-S8836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 4862. Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Ms. Ernst) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 proposed by Mr. 
Reed 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. 1216. 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 secondary schools and 
     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 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 internationally recognized 
     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; and
       (E) 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.
       (9) Prior to the Taliban takeover in August 2021, 
     approximately 7,000,000 people in Afghanistan lacked or had 
     limited access to life-saving 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 prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum care 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, 
     drought, 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 prenatal and 
     childbirth services.
       (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 in society;
       (3) respecting the internationally recognized 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

[[Page S8836]]

     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, including women-led 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 would exacerbate the current humanitarian 
     crisis and harm the well-being of women and girls 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 internationally recognized 
     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 such rights against 
     women and girls and violations and abuses of international 
     humanitarian law;
       (B) to strongly oppose any weakening of the political or 
     economic 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 
     internationally recognized human rights of women and girls in 
     Afghanistan, including the right to safely work, including 
     outside the home;
       (D) to identify individuals who violate the internationally 
     recognized human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, 
     such as by committing acts of murder, lynching, and grievous 
     domestic violence against women, and to press for bringing 
     those individuals to justice; and
       (E) to systematically consult with Afghan women and girls 
     (including women and girls who are part of the Afghan 
     diaspora community), including through women-led 
     organizations and networks, on their needs and priorities in 
     the development, implementation, and monitoring of 
     humanitarian action, diplomatic efforts, and foreign 
     assistance activities.
       (d) Humanitarian Assistance and Afghan Women.--The 
     Secretary of State, in coordination with 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, and make available to the 
     public, a report that includes the following:
       (A) An assessment of, including recommendations on, the 
     status of women and girls in Afghanistan following the 
     departure of United States and partner military forces, 
     including with respect to the access of such women and girls 
     to primary and secondary education, primary and emergency 
     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 employment of women in both the 
     public and private sectors in Afghanistan.
       (D) An assessment of the prevalence of gender-based 
     violence in Afghanistan and the status of access to justice 
     and other dispute resolution mechanisms to redress incidents 
     of gender-based violence.
       (E) 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 internationally recognized 
     human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, including 
     funds directed toward local organizations promoting such 
     rights of women and girls, that includes the following:
       (i) The amounts awarded to prime recipients and 
     subrecipients for such purposes during the reporting period.
       (ii) A description of each program for which such funds are 
     used for such purposes.
       (2) Assessment.--
       (A) Input.--The assessment described in paragraph (1)(A) 
     shall include the input of--
       (i) Afghan women and girls;
       (ii) Afghan and international organizations employing and 
     working with Afghan women and girls; and
       (iii) Afghan and international humanitarian organizations, 
     including faith-based 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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