[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 22426-22427]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



     DENOUNCING THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN AFGHANISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, again I rise to express my 
outrage to the American people about the brutal treatment directed 
against women and children by the Taliban regime.
  The Women's Caucus, on which I serve as one of its Chairs, had the 
privilege of meeting with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Assistant 
Secretary Wolfowitz, and Tori Clarke, the assistant Deputy Secretary 
for public affairs at the Pentagon on Thursday to discuss the war on 
terrorism.
  As the women of this House expressed their concern for the women and 
children of Afghanistan, we were at ease to know that our 
administration supports our concerns 110 percent. We have vowed to work 
with the Secretary to ensure that women and children are benefactors of 
any aid packages to the region and that any attempts to return 
prosperity to Afghanistan includes the input of women-led NGOs and the 
Afghani people.
  We also discussed the importance of informing the American people 
about how ridiculous the Taliban truly is. In order to do that, we must 
continue to bring attention to their treatment of women and children in 
the region.
  Tonight I will focus on the children of Afghanistan, defenseless 
victims in this web of persecution. In addition to women, children have 
also been denied their most basic rights to health, education, family 
life, and all too often have themselves been targets.
  Mr. Speaker, in addition, an increasing number of Afghan children are 
being drawn into war by the ruling Taliban. However, things have 
changed this week and we are hopeful for the better.
  My heart goes out to the children of Afghanistan who will be left 
with the scars and mental anguish of having watched their mothers being 
beaten in the streets or executed. Sadly, Afghani children face more 
hardship than simply witnessing the abuse of their mothers.
  The United Nations estimates that 2 million Afghan children are 
either refugees living in overcrowded shelters in neighboring countries 
or are internally displaced. About 25 percent of children inside 
Afghanistan die before age 5 years of diseases that could be cured by 
commonly-available medicine. This is as a result of women being denied 
or not receiving proper health care for themselves or their children.
  The question must also be raised about who is carrying for the over-1 
million orphaned children of Afghanistan. Already an extremely poor 
country and a poor nation, Afghanistan is experiencing its worst 
drought in living memory. The Afghan people are desperate for food, 
medicine, and shelter. With harsh Afghan winter coming on, the prices 
will only get worst.
  Experts estimate that Afghanistan needs 1,500 tons of food relief 
daily. So far, the United States has only dropped about 1 percent of 
that need. Approximately 1.7 million children are at risk this winter 
from freezing and starvation. A significant increase in food, shelter, 
education and health care services is necessary to ward off starvation, 
disease and death.
  We must ensure that more aid is directed to the region and increased 
donations are directed to the U.N. funds so that children in this war-
torn nation can receive assistance before the harsh winter sets in.
  Reports of children being recruited by the Taliban is also very 
disturbing. These reports indicate that there has been increased 
recruitment of children

[[Page 22427]]

to perform service. I have witnessed horrific displays of young boys on 
the battle front who appear barely in their teens carrying assault 
rifles and even rocket-propelled grenade launches on television. We 
must continue to upholds efforts to stop this practice.
  Mr. Speaker, I applaud the administration's commitment to the women 
and children of Afghanistan; and the Women's Caucus looks forward to 
working closely with Secretary Rumsfeld to ensure dramatic increases in 
the United States' efforts to provide long-term humanitarian 
assistance.
  As I have said each time I have come to this floor to address this 
issue, I stand in full support of providing direct funding to Afghan 
women-led organizations like the Revolutionary Association of the Women 
of Afghanistan, which is RAWA, to ensure that the primary benefactors 
are women and children. If we are to have durable peace in Afghanistan, 
it is important, Mr. Speaker, to provide hope and rehabilitation to the 
Afghani children and youth in order to make them a constructive force 
for the rebuilding of their country.

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