[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 23007-23012]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 23007]]

              AFGHAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN RELIEF ACT OF 2001

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the Senate bill (S. 1573) to authorize the provision of educational and 
health care assistance to the women and children of Afghanistan.
  The Clerk read as follows:




                                S. 1573

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Afghan Women and Children 
     Relief Act of 2001''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) In Afghanistan, Taliban restrictions on women's 
     participation in society make it nearly impossible for women 
     to exercise their basic human rights. The Taliban 
     restrictions on Afghan women's freedom of expression, 
     association, and movement deny women full participation in 
     society and, consequently, from effectively securing basic 
     access to work, education, and health care.
       (2) Afghanistan has one of the highest infant (165 of 1000) 
     and child (257 of 1000) mortality rates in the world.
       (3) Only 5 percent of rural and 39 percent of urban Afghans 
     have access to safe drinking water.
       (4) It is estimated that 42 percent of all deaths in 
     Afghanistan are due to diarrheal diseases caused by 
     contaminated food and water.
       (5) Over one-third of Afghan children under 5 years of age 
     suffer from malnutrition, 85,000 of whom die annually.
       (6) Seventy percent of the health care system in 
     Afghanistan is dependent on foreign assistance.
       (7) As of May 1998, only 20 percent of hospital medical and 
     surgical beds dedicated to adults were available for women, 
     and thousands of Afghan women and girls are routinely denied 
     health care.
       (8) Women are forbidden to leave their homes without being 
     escorted by a male relative. This prevents many women from 
     seeking basic necessities like health care and food for their 
     children. Doctors, virtually all of whom are male, are also 
     not permitted to provide certain types of care not deemed 
     appropriate by the Taliban.
       (9) Before the Taliban took control of Kabul, schools were 
     coeducational, with women accounting for 70 percent of the 
     teaching force. Women represented about 50 percent of the 
     civil service corps, and 40 percent of the city's physicians 
     were women. Today, the Taliban prohibits women from working 
     as teachers, doctors, and in any other occupation.
       (10) The Taliban prohibit girls and women from attending 
     school. In 1998, the Taliban ordered the closing of more than 
     100 privately funded schools where thousands of young women 
     and girls were receiving education and training in skills 
     that would have helped them support themselves and their 
     families.
       (11) Of the many tens of thousands of war widows in 
     Afghanistan, many are forced to beg for food and to sell 
     their possessions because they are not allowed to work.
       (12) Resistance movements courageously continue to educate 
     Afghan girls in secrecy and in foreign countries against 
     Taliban law.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.

       (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the President 
     is authorized, on such terms and conditions as the President 
     may determine, to provide educational and health care 
     assistance for the women and children living in Afghanistan 
     and as refugees in neighboring countries.
       (b) Implementation.--(1) In providing assistance under 
     subsection (a), the President shall ensure that such 
     assistance is provided in a manner that protects and promotes 
     the human rights of all people in Afghanistan, utilizing 
     indigenous institutions and nongovernmental organizations, 
     especially women's organizations, to the extent possible.
       (2) Beginning 6 months after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, and at least annually for the 2 years thereafter, the 
     Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committee on 
     Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee 
     on International Relations of the House of Representatives 
     describing the activities carried out under this Act and 
     otherwise describing the condition and status of women and 
     children in Afghanistan and the persons in refugee camps 
     while United States aid is given to displaced Afghans.
       (c) Availability of Funds.--Funds made available under the 
     2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery 
     from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States 
     (Public Law 107-38), shall be available to carry out this 
     Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. 
Berkley) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the Senate bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, as Chair of the Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Human Rights, and as an original cosponsor of the House 
companion, I rise in support of the Afghan Women and Children Relief 
Act of 2001.
  In 1996, a heavy shroud was placed on the people of Afghanistan when 
the Taliban captured Kabul. From that moment onward, the Taliban took 
the peaceful and sacred scriptures of the Holy Koran and distorted them 
into a rulebook of terror.
  Through their creation of the Department for Promotion of Virtue and 
the Prevention of Vice, the Taliban enforced a perverse rendition of 
Islam which gruesomely joined prayer with the barbaric practices of 
beatings, torture, rape, and executions.
  But the Taliban's brutality and blatant disregard for the lives and 
well-being of the Afghan people was perhaps most clearly evident among 
half of its population, the women of Afghanistan, who bear the deepest 
scars.
  Made widows and orphans by the will of the Taliban, the same women 
who once made up 50 percent of Afghanistan's doctors, nurses, teachers, 
college students, and diplomats, have been made destitute, sick, and 
marginalized.
  The Taliban further banned them from receiving any education past the 
age of 8, for which the curriculum was limited to the Taliban's 
corrupted version of the Koran. In the year 2000, the United Nations 
educational, scientific, and cultural organization estimated that as 
few as 3 percent of Afghan girls were receiving primary education.
  The gender adviser to the U.N. in Afghanistan further reported that 
female literacy was approximately 4 percent versus 30 percent for 
males.
  Women in Afghanistan were further alienated by the denial of proper 
medical treatment. They could only be treated by male doctors in 
certain hospitals; and when allowed to be treated, the male doctor was 
prohibited from examining her unless she was fully clothed in Taliban-
approved garb.
  Further, the doctor could not touch her, thus limiting the 
possibility of any medical diagnosis or meaningful treatment.
  Throughout, the indomitable will and courage of Afghan women have 
helped them endure these most deplorable circumstances. While the end 
of the Taliban's oppressive rule is now palpable, the struggle of 
Afghan women to save themselves and their children from disease and 
starvation, their hope for a future for peace, freedom, and democracy 
continues.
  How can we discuss the future of Afghanistan without first addressing 
the humanitarian crisis which engulfs its people? We cannot. How can we 
talk about reconstruction when half of its population, its women, have 
been marginalized, and when many of its future leaders, the children of 
Afghanistan, barely survive past the age of 5?
  This bill seeks to address these grave concerns. The legislation 
before us today is about helping to save lives by focusing U.S. 
assistance on providing basic medical care to the women and children 
inside Afghanistan and those living in refugee camps outside their 
beleaguered country.
  This bill is about helping to secure a future of hope and prosperity 
for women and children by calling on the President to provide 
educational assistance for these two critical sectors of Afghan 
society. It lays the groundwork for democratic principles, as it 
requires the protection and promotion of human rights for all the 
people of Afghanistan.
  It builds on the ingenuity and the courage of the Afghan population 
by recommending that institutions and nongovernmental organizations, 
especially women's organizations, be used to the extent possible.
  The U.S. and the international community should invest in these 
efforts, as they can afford the greatest access to those who are 
suffering the most.

[[Page 23008]]

  The value and importance of using indigenous women's organizations is 
perhaps best reflected in the health sector. In the refugee camps of 
Pakistan, for example, most medical assistance is provided by the 
Pakistan directorate for health.
  However, in instances where camp-based medical units are operating, 
women's access is restricted due to the transportation problems and 
cultural restrictions on mobility which require that women be escorted 
by a male relative, among many other restrictions. As a result, there 
have been frequent complaints from Afghan women about the quality of 
the services provided.
  Immediately, Afghan women NGOs began to work on filling the gaps from 
multiple angles, running small clinics and providing mothers and 
children with basic medical assistance so they may live long and 
healthy lives.

                              {time}  1415

  This is what the bill that we are considering today supports, Madam 
Speaker.
  The legislation also acknowledges and supports the impressive work of 
Afghan women's groups in filling the educational void created by the 
Taliban's oppressive and discriminatory practices against women. 
Several women-led organizations have established and are operating home 
schools to afford this forgotten and marginalized sector of Afghan 
society with the opportunities denied to them by the Taliban and their 
perverse interpretation of Islam. Many are involved in the provisions 
of education within the refugee context and running schools in the 
camps, adult literacy classes, and English language training.
  Indeed, Afghan women's groups are not novices to humanitarian 
response activities. Beginning with the decade-long Soviet occupation 
of their country, more and more Afghan women's organizations have 
emerged to address a variety of needs, particularly in the areas of 
medical care, education and, in recent years, trauma counseling and 
rights awareness.
  Throughout the years they have refined their skills and gained 
expertise through working in United Nations' agencies as administrative 
staff and as implementers of assistance programs both inside and 
outside of Afghanistan. Some examples include UNICEF projects as well 
as refugee resettlement protection programs with the Office of U.N. 
High Commissioner for Refugees.
  Afghan women and groups that they lead have also entered into 
symbiotic relationships with international NGOs as implementers of 
their programs, programs such as CARE's widow's feeding program in 
Kabul and Action Contre La Faim's programs for malnourished children in 
many locations.
  These are the types of activities that this bill supports, activities 
which, in turn, are vital to the welfare of Afghan women and children; 
activities which, in turn, will help ensure that women will be prepared 
to actively participate in the future of their country.
  This bill is about relief and survival. It is about life.
  As Surah 5 of the holy Koran reads, ``He who wrongfully slays another 
would be as if he slew the whole people; and if any one save a life, it 
would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.''
  The Congress of the United States must act to save one life at a time 
and, by that, do what we can to help save the people of Afghanistan. We 
can begin by rendering our full support to the legislation before us 
today.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this bill. We are 
well aware of the horrendous treatment that women have received in 
Afghanistan under the Taliban rule. The Taliban restrictions on women's 
participation in society have made it nearly impossible for women to 
exercise their basic human rights. Women have essentially been 
prevented from securing basic access to work, education and health 
care. These restrictions on women also prevented them from adequately 
providing and caring for their children.
  It will come as no surprise to anyone in this Chamber that, after 2 
decades of conflict and 6 years of Taliban rule, Afghanistan has one of 
the highest infant and child mortality rates in the world. Only 5 
percent of rural and one-third of urban Afghans have access to safe 
drinking water. Over one-third of Afghan children under 5 years of age 
suffer from malnutrition; 85,000 die annually.
  During the years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, women were not made 
to feel subservient. It is far more insidious than that. Women were 
made invisible. They became non-people.
  Any woman can endure this for herself, but not to be able to protect 
your children, to see them go without food and watch their small bodies 
shrivel up and die, to see them sick and suffering and not being able 
to provide medicine or medical attention to heal them and save them, to 
watch their young minds atrophy for lack of an education, this is too 
much for any woman to bear.
  Madam Speaker, this bill takes a significant first step to ensure 
that, as we move forward in helping the people of Afghanistan reclaim 
their lives and rebuild their society, that we give particular emphasis 
to the needs of women and children. I am sure that everyone who 
rejoiced at the sight of women lifting off their veils, men shaving 
their beards and children dancing to music in the streets of Kabul just 
2 weeks ago will also understand the symbolic importance of this 
legislation.
  H.R. 1573 sends an important message to the women and children of 
Afghanistan, and I hope all of my colleagues will support it.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the sponsor of 
the legislation, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce).
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentlewoman 
from Florida, for yielding me time and for her hard work and dedication 
to this issue. I would also like to thank my good friend, the 
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), for all of her work and 
assistance on this bill, along with the gentleman from Illinois 
(Chairman Hyde) for his help.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in the strongest support for the Afghan Women 
and Children Relief Act. This legislation authorizes our President to 
use funding from the 2001 Emergency Supplemental under such terms and 
conditions as he may decide to provide health and educational 
assistance to the women and children of Afghanistan.
  As we all know, the plight of women and children under the ruling 
Taliban regime and their terrorist allies has been dire. As recognized 
by this legislation, Taliban restrictions on women's participation in 
society made it nearly impossible for women to exercise their basic 
human rights. The restrictions on Afghan women's freedom of expression, 
association and movement denied women full participation in society 
and, consequently, kept them from effectively securing basic access to 
work, education and even health care.
  Under Taliban rule, women were beaten and in some cases shot for 
simply leaving their homes unaccompanied, even if only to seek medical 
attention for a sick child. The heavy suffering of Afghan women has 
been unthinkable and immeasurable. As described by one Afghan woman, 
the owner of a secretly run beauty shop, ``It was like being in 
prison,'' she said. ``We had no life. We were not people.''
  Madam Speaker, there is a tide in the course of human history. Taken 
at its height it can lead to progress, to advancement, to success; but 
missed it can leave any cause trapped in shallow water. Therefore, we 
must act with haste and determination when the current moves and the 
water is deep with opportunity. Madam Speaker, the current is moving.
  The tide of history is nearing a peak moment in Afghanistan, and this 
legislation provides the tools to respond.
  The Taliban, along with their record of brutal oppression, are being 
driven out of the country and out of power, and women have already 
begun to emerge from beneath their burkas.

[[Page 23009]]

They are awakening to what I deeply hope will be a new day. There has 
rarely been a more important moment, a more crucial time than this.
  While women may be free of the hand of Taliban injustice, we do not 
know what lies ahead for them. Therefore, at this time of change and 
uncertainty we must act to give the women of Afghanistan hope and to 
help them reclaim their dignity, respect and, ultimately, their right 
and equal place in society.
  Life for women before the Taliban stands in stark contrast to the 
last 5 years. Over time, the drive towards greater rights for women was 
moving forward. In the 1920s, Afghan women received the right to vote; 
and in the 1960s, the Afghan constitution recognized their equality.
  By the early 1990s, in Kabul, women represented 70 percent of 
schoolteachers, 50 percent of government workers and 50 percent of 
doctors. To say the very least, the cause of women's rights in 
Afghanistan suffered a major setback under Taliban rule.
  President Bush and the First Lady have recognized the dire plight of 
Afghan women. The administration is already taking steps to cast light 
on the evil that has been done to Afghan women and has spoken out in 
favor of giving women a voice in their new government, along with the 
right to economic freedom.
  Congress must do its part in this important effort by giving the 
President the resources to help these women recover from the years of 
abuse they have suffered. This means providing most basic health care 
and educational assistance, which will authorize the President over the 
next 3 years to provide targeted funding to aid organizations already 
on the ground. Through our work, we can help Afghan women to regain 
their footing.
  Madam Speaker, we may never be able to understand why the Taliban 
chose a path of such brutality and oppression. It certainly does not 
come from Islam, which teaches peace and respects human rights. In 
fact, in many other parts of the Muslim world, women play important 
roles as doctors, teachers, journalists, lawyers, diplomats and other 
professionals. It is not the Muslim religion which has oppressed women 
in Afghanistan. It is hate, fear and the injustice of the Taliban.
  After the Taliban began their retreat, one woman who was among the 
first women to read the news at Radio Afghanistan burned her burka. She 
said, ``Now I see the sunlight, and it is so beautiful.'' Madam 
Speaker, all the women of Afghanistan deserve to see the sunlight. Let 
us play our part by passing important legislation.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume 
to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).
  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlelady for the recognition 
and commend her for managing her first bill. How appropriate that the 
gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley) would be managing the bill to 
assist Afghan women, a bill sponsored by women, for women and managed 
by women, presided over by women.
  I commend the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for her 
excellent statement and leadership and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. 
Pryce) for her leadership as the author, along with the gentlewoman 
from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) for her leadership on this 
important bill.
  I, too, want to join in commending the Bush administration. It was 
quite a remarkable day when the First Lady of our country, for the very 
first time maybe, addressed the White House radio address alone on an 
issue, and how appropriate that that issue would be the plight of 
Afghan women and the need for there to be more assistance from the 
United States. Yes, to help with medical and humanitarian assistance 
but also to ensure that in the government that is formed in Afghanistan 
that women will have a leadership role and be part of the decision 
making.
  Our colleagues have very clearly spelled out the suffering of the 
Afghani women during the time of the Taliban regime, and indeed even 
preceding that girls were not educated fully in Afghanistan. Preceding 
the takeover by the Taliban, women constituted 70 percent of the 
teachers in Afghanistan, 50 percent of the government workers, 40 
percent of the health professionals; and, of course, with the onset of 
the Taliban regime they were forbidden from working. Women suffered, 
girls suffered, but everyone suffered. Who taught the little boys? 
Because 70 percent of the teachers were women. So everyone in 
Afghanistan suffered, and everyone in Afghanistan will benefit under 
the provisions of H.R. 3330 which authorizes educational and health 
care assistance to the women and children of Afghanistan.
  Madam Speaker, I think it is important to note that the United States 
is the single largest contributor of a huge amount of humanitarian 
assistance to Afghanistan, and this well preceded September 11, very 
much preceded September 11.
  I was pleased to serve under my ranking member, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Mrs. Lowey), and was our former ranking member on the 
Committee on Foreign Operations with the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. 
Callahan) as my chairman. He beefed up, I would say, the Child Survival 
Account, now we call it the Callahan Account, now under the gentleman 
from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe).
  We appreciate this authorization coming as it does. When we go back 
to do the appropriation for next year, we will be fully armed with the 
authority to take money as it spells out in the bill from the Child 
Survival and Health Programs, UNICEF, immunization, safe injections, 
maternal health, medical equipment, women and development, children's 
basic education and refugee assistance, and whatever other accounts and 
amounts might be available under the 2001 Emergency Supplemental 
Appropriations Act.
  One other point I want to make, Madam Speaker, is I think women of 
America deserve a great deal of commendation because they early on 
talked about the plight of women in Afghanistan long before September 
11. It is completely appropriate that the Congressional Women's Caucus 
is taking the lead on this issue. It is a reflection of the mood of our 
country, as was clearly demonstrated by the willingness of the First 
Lady to make this her first White House radio address; and how proud we 
were of her in doing that, as I said before.

                              {time}  1430

  But the women of America are the ones who spoke out early and said, 
look, listen, see what is happening in Afghanistan. It was an early 
bellwether of awful things to come. So I think this leadership role 
played by women should be recognized, should be heeded; and one giant 
step we can take in doing that is to pass H.R. 3330. Again, I commend 
all my colleagues for their leadership on this.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to 
the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert), who has been leading the 
charge on our side on this bill.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman yielding me 
this time. As the brutal Taliban regime is coming to an end in 
Afghanistan, the women and children there need our help. That is why I 
am proud to support Senate 1573.
  For 5 years, the women and children and girls of Afghanistan have 
been denied medical care and schools have been shuttered. Women have 
been forced to beg in the streets to feed their children. This bill 
will provide the much-needed health care and education assistance to 
begin the long road to recovery.
  Afghanistan's women and girls have been singled out by the Taliban 
for abuse. We have not seen such a state- sponsored systematic program 
of discrimination and oppression since Nazi Germany or South Africa 
under apartheid.
  A recent State Department report details a shocking story about the 
shooting of an Afghan woman whose child was in dire need of medical 
attention. The doctor was across town; and because she did not have a 
male escort, the woman was prohibited from making the trip to take her 
child to the

[[Page 23010]]

doctor. Knowing that without medical care her child could die, the 
Afghan woman set out to go across town with her child in her arms, but 
without that male escort. The woman was tragically intercepted by a 
Taliban officer and shot repeatedly in front of her child.
  These and other atrocities will hopefully come to an end with the 
demise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the women and children of 
that country will continue to need our help to recover from this regime 
of terror. So far, the United States has been the largest provider of 
humanitarian aid to the Afghan people. We have contributed more than $1 
billion in aid since 1979. I applaud the President's recent decision to 
contribute an additional $320 million in aid to the Afghan people. 
There is need for humanitarian aid throughout Afghanistan, but the 
women and children need it the most.
  Afghan women have been forbidden from activity outside their homes 
unless accompanied by a male relative and dressed in the now-familiar 
burqa. These women have not felt the sunlight touching their skin for 
many years. I was moved to see in the photographs the smile on women's 
faces as they took off their burqas and the sun touch their faces.
  Attending a school or university has been out of the question for 
Afghan women. For years now, the only semblance of education has been 
for Afghan boys, who learned hatred at those schools. The girls have 
had no education. In many cases, Afghan women risked their lives to 
provide secret schools for girls in their homes.
  Madam Speaker, children across Afghanistan are dying. Over one-third 
of Afghan children under 5 years of age suffer from malnutrition, 
leading to 85,000 needless deaths per year.
  The United States has an opportunity to play an integral role in 
restoring humanity and decency to a country desperately in need of both 
health care and education after years under this regime. I applaud the 
President for his charge in leading this.
  As the Taliban regime crumbles, the United States has a vested 
interest in the restoration of a civil society in Afghanistan. This 
will only be accomplished when healthy women and children are able to 
walk the streets without fear of assault, realize their potential, and 
develop the sense of worth to which they are entitled.
  I would like to thank Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison  for originally 
introducing this legislation in the Senate and my friend and colleague, 
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce), for carrying this bill in the 
House. This measure was passed by unanimous consent in the Senate.
  I would also like to thank President Bush for his strong support of 
women in Afghanistan, and women's rights generally. I am told the 
President is anxious to sign this bill.
  I would also like to applaud our good friend, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), who serves as co-chair, with me, 
of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. This has been a top 
priority of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues.
  The House leadership should also be thanked for making it a top 
priority on their agenda and putting it as the number one bill today, 
as should the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), chairman of the 
Committee on International Relations, who was instrumental.
  Afghan women need to have a seat at the table when their government 
is rebuilt. We must pass this legislation now.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me 
this time; and I especially thank my good friends and colleagues, 
especially the women of the House and the Senate, who have taken the 
leadership on this important bill.
  There have been lots of wonderful and sincere words on women's rights 
in the new Afghanistan. What is important about this bill is that it 
gives these words some teeth. And teeth will be needed. Anyone who 
looks at the unique oppression that women and children have suffered in 
Afghanistan will understand that they will not automatically be free 
when Afghanistan is liberated.
  We should remind everybody concerned that the United States of 
America made victory in Afghanistan possible. We have an obligation, we 
ourselves, to help make that victory apply to women and children as 
well; and that is well beyond the indispensable restoration of freedom 
and equality.
  After all, let us be real. Afghanistan is now one of the poorest 
societies in the world. People are hijacking trucks just to get enough 
to eat. Women and children do not act that way. To the victors always 
belong the spoils. And in a society that has been especially brutal to 
women, we have every reason to believe that will continue to be the 
case. The first to be denied in Afghanistan have been women and 
children. It is despicable how everything from food to health care have 
been denied women and children, who got what little there was left 
over, not what there was to be had.
  What this bill essentially does is to target assistance for women and 
children. Otherwise, there is no reason to believe that automatically a 
society which has featured, above all, male macho will revert to 
equality for women and children. There has to be some march forward, 
some encouragement of equal opportunity. Men in Afghanistan, let us 
face it, are going to see the victory as theirs, not the victory of the 
United States of America, not the victory of the United Nations, and 
certainly not the victory of women and children.
  Afghanistan must rebuild its own society on the basis of freedom and 
equality. However, we do have a right, I think we have earned the right 
to insist that these important goals apply not only to all the 
indigenous groups but to all the women and children in all the 
indigenous groups. We have an obligation to help reverse Taliban rule 
that has assured that women and children would be last. This is the way 
to help rebuild family life in Afghanistan.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to 
the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), who joins me in thanking 
our men and women in the Armed Forces whose military offensive have 
helped to open the corridor for the humanitarian assistance to reach 
the people of Afghanistan which is spoken of in this bill.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her 
leadership on this issue and for yielding me this time, and I rise in 
strong support of the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act because I 
believe it is a pivotal first step in the assurances that the United 
States must provide to ourselves and to the citizens of Afghanistan 
that women not be hidden from society in the future of Afghanistan. 
Children must be educated; girls and boys and women must not die at the 
second highest rate in the world from lack of maternal health care. The 
American people will accept no less than to ensure that women are given 
back the lives they knew before the Taliban and before the decades of 
civil war.
  The liberation of Kabul, Mazar-e Sharif, and other Afghan cities from 
Taliban rule is cause for celebration, but women are celebrating 
cautiously. Women were, in essence, banned by Taliban; ordered out of 
sight stripped of their basic freedoms. It remains to be seen, however, 
whether the women of Afghanistan will enjoy a fleeting moment in the 
sun or will truly be allowed to participate in the reconstruction of 
their country.
  The Afghan Women and Children's Relief Act demonstrates a way that 
the United States can help to educate and provide health care for those 
in need. But we can also embrace the critically important role that 
women must play in Afghanistan's reconstruction. The First Lady's 
recent radio address, and the statements of Secretary of State Colin 
Powell and Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky 
demonstrate a commitment by the United States that Afghan women will 
not be marginalized as soon as this spotlight shifts.
  Addressing women's needs and potential is not an academic question 
for us

[[Page 23011]]

in the United States. We are paying a dear price for driving hatred and 
intolerance out of Afghanistan. We have every right to assume that the 
new government there and the society that emerges will repudiate the 
values of the Taliban and be a force for regional stability. What the 
future holds for Afghanistan largely depends on how its women, 54 
percent of the Afghan population, are incorporated into the political, 
economic, and social life of the country.
  I do ask this body to pass H.R. 3330 to promote educational 
opportunities for all children and access to health care, but I also 
want to point out that as a second step I invite all my colleagues to 
cosponsor H.R. 3342, which I have introduced along with the gentlewoman 
from New York (Mrs. Maloney), and others, the Access For Afghan Women 
Act. It encourages the State Department and USAID to include women in 
negotiations to establish a new government in Afghanistan; recognize 
that women's participation in the foundation of post-conflict stability 
and their own economic self-sufficiency is necessary; assist the 
voluntary resettlement and repatriation of refugees; and ensure that 
peacekeeping operations protect women from violence.
  Madam Speaker, when hostilities cease, the Afghan people will have a 
precious chance to transform their war-torn country. The long-term 
stability is important to the United States; and both countries will 
benefit from recognizing and embracing the essential contributions that 
women can make and must make to the effort.
  I applaud the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) for introducing H.R. 
3330, and I encourage all Members to become engaged in the effort to do 
the right thing in Afghanistan for men, women, and children.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I believe, Madam Speaker, that one person can make a difference; and 
I believe that all of us serving in Congress, united, speaking with one 
voice, will make a significant difference to the people of Afghanistan. 
If we sit back and do nothing, knowing of the widespread pain and 
suffering of innocent women and children caught up in the madness of 
Taliban rule, then I fear we are almost as guilty as those who have 
perpetrated these crimes against humanity.
  Now is our time to speak out, now is our moment in history to make a 
difference, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Ros-Lehtinen).
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Nevada 
(Ms. Berkley) for yielding me these 2 minutes, because as we speak, 
delegates to the summit conference of Afghan groups are discussing a 
plan for an interim administration in Afghanistan. This would pave the 
way to a post-Taliban government that protects its citizens and 
safeguards the fundamental rights of women and children.
  However, the road toward fulfillment of this goal begins with the 
people of Afghanistan, where reconstruction entails educations and 
empowering the beleaguered population so that they can reclaim control 
of their own destiny.
  Under the Taliban, it was women and children who suffered the most 
from its abhorrent practices. Thus, to begin to overcome this grim 
legacy, we must ensure that our efforts give the necessary focus and 
assistance to programs providing education and relief services to 
Afghan women.
  This bill focuses our humanitarian efforts to help ensure that U.S. 
assistance has the maximum impact, reaching those refugees and segments 
of Afghan society most affected by the Taliban's reign of terror.

                              {time}  1445

  Madam Speaker, it is a bill which reinforces the true essence and 
spirit of the United States, a country committed to the defense of 
those who are oppressed and subjugated, a Nation of caring people who 
now and in the past have led the world in providing humanitarian aid to 
the Afghan people. Let us lead the way once again by rendering our 
overwhelming support to the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act.
  Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 
educational and health care rights for the women and children of 
Afghanistan. According to the Journal of the American Medical 
Association, the current health and human rights status of women in 
Afghanistan suggests that the combined effects of war-related trauma 
and human rights abuses by Taliban officials have had a profound effect 
on Afghan women's health. Moreover, support for women's human rights by 
Afghan women suggests that Taliban policies regarding women are 
incommensurate with the interests, needs, and health of Afghan women.
  Before the Taliban regime took power, Afghan women were protected by 
law, had important freedoms and were active participants in society. In 
1977, women comprised more than 15 percent of Afghanistan's highest 
legislative body. By the early 1990s women comprised 70 percent of 
schoolteachers. Women made up 50 percent of government workers. Forty 
percent of doctors in Kabul were women. Then came the Taliban and their 
destruction of the family.
  For nearly 20 years, life in Afghanistan has been degraded by foreign 
and civil wars, but, since 1994, the regime of the Taliban militias 
has, by decree, officially taken away from women all rights to 
education, to work, and to health. Denial of freedom of movement 
renders Afghan women practically prisoners in their own homes, in the 
most extreme situation of material and moral destitution.
  Until 1996, Afghan women were an integral part of society, they 
worked outside the home, they went to school, and chose their own 
doctor. Women constituted 50 percent of the student body in the 
universities, 60 percent of the civil servants, 75 percent of the 
hospitals workforce, a majority of teachers for boys' and girls' 
schools, and had businesses of their own. In the city of Kabul alone, 
there were around 17,000 women teachers. The 1964 and 1977 
Constitutions of Afghanistan provided for gender equality and women 
were fully vested in the political process including the right to vote 
and get elected. Many women also wore either a chadari or scarf on a 
voluntary basis.
  A child, who was born 12 or 13 years ago, is a young adult now. He 
was five years old when his father was killed, he was seven years old 
when his mother was raped and tortured in front of him, and he was only 
ten years old when his house was burned down to the ground. And now, he 
lives in a plastic tent with no place to go and, no one to turn to. The 
psychological impact of the past twenty years shall leave an immutable 
scar in over one million orphans' memories, unless they receive help 
now. Two generations of Afghans know only war, deprivation, 
homelessness, hunger, suffering, and loss, and their futures seem bleak 
in a world that has largely forgotten them.
  In addition, there are estimated to be between 10 and 15 million land 
mines scattered in the landscape, exploding and injuring at a rate of 
20 to 25 per day. They kill or injure predominantly children who are 
sometimes victims of mines disguised as toys. One out of four Afghan 
children dies before the age of five. Over one million Afghan children 
are orphans. Over 500,000 are disabled. Over 400,000 children are 
amputees, because of land mines. Over one million Afghan children are 
suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
  History has demonstrated that supremacist and totalitarian regimes 
such as the Taliban militias maintained themselves in power only if the 
rest of the world remains silent. Human rights are founded on 
principles that all members of the human family are equal in dignity 
and rights. However, where discrimination against women and children 
exists, they are often excluded from effective participation in 
identifying and securing their rights. In recent years, some have 
argued that health, defined as ``a state of complete physical, mental 
and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or 
infirmity,'' requires the protection and promotion of human rights. In 
Afghanistan, Taliban restrictions on Afghan women and children's 
freedom of expression, association, and movement deny women full 
participation in society and, consequently, from effectively securing 
equal opportunities for work, education, and access to health care.
  I rise today to reiterate my support for the women and children of 
Afghanistan. Exclusion of women from employment, and women and children 
from education, jeopardizes their capacity to survive and participate 
in society. In my opinion, the health and human rights concerns of 
Afghan women and children are identified and the promotion of Afghan 
women and children's health is inseparable from the protection and 
promotion of human rights.

[[Page 23012]]


  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of S. 1573, the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act of 2001. 
This measure would authorize the President to provide educational and 
health care assistance to the women and children of Afghanistan from 
funds made available under the 2001 Emergency Supplemental 
Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks 
on the United States.
  The oppression of Afghan women began when the regressive and 
repressive Taliban took control of Afghanistan. Under the regime of 
these Islamic fundamentalists, women became subject to a horrific 
system of gender apartheid whereby the rights enjoyed by women in so 
many other areas of the world, the rights they are entitled to, were 
virtually eliminated.
  In Afghanistan, women are totally deprived of the right to an 
education, of the right to work, to travel, to health care, legal 
recourse, recreation, and of the right to being human. Islamic 
fundamentalism, instead, looks upon women as subhuman, fit only for 
household slavery and as a means of procreation. Women who violate the 
rules of conduct are beaten or brutalized, often in a public arena for 
the sake of entertainment.
  This type of inhumane treatment will have a profound effect on the 
future of Afghanistan. As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, 
I am always concerned about the welfare of children here at home and 
abroad. Young Afghan girls are also subject to the extreme restrictions 
imposed by the Taliban--restrictions to education, health care, and a 
normal way of life. Afghan children are some of the poorest and least 
healthy in the world. They have the highest mortality rates for 
children under five. These children have known only war, so they are 
suffering enormous trauma as well.
  As the Taliban regime retreats from the major Afghanistan cities, the 
masses are rejoicing at the hope of renewed opportunities for the 
country. The talents and contributions of Afghan women will once again 
permeate the country. Prior to the Taliban regime, seventy percent of 
teachers were women, fifty percent of civil servants were women, and 
university students, and forty percent of doctors were women. This bill 
will assure that women and children are able to exercise their right to 
education and healthcare.
  Madam Speaker, we, as Members of Congress, now have a tool to help 
restore the rights and human dignity of Afghan women and children. I 
urge my colleagues to support S. 1573.
  Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1573.
  I am an educated woman. Not only do I hold an undergraduate degree, I 
also have earned a master's degree.
  I am a healthy woman. Not only do I receive regular medical care from 
my physician, I also have access to superb emergency care if needed.
  I am an independent woman. Not only do I have a challenging career, I 
also feel secure strolling the streets of this city alone.
  Such is not the case, however, for the women and girls of 
Afghanistan.
  During the days of Taliban rule, these women were denied education. 
They were denied health care. They were denied basic human freedoms.
  In these emerging days of post-Taliban rule, it is our duty to ensure 
that these basic civil liberties are restored.
  I commend the authors of S. 1573--and its companion legislation H.R. 
3330--for their aim of providing education and health care 
opportunities to the women and children of Afghanistan. I especially 
applaud the desire to utilize women-led non-governmental organizations 
to achieve their goals.
  I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support 
this important piece of legislation.
  Ms. HARMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3330, the 
Afghan Women And Children Relief Act. This legislation will ensure that 
educational and health care assistance reaches the women and children 
of Afghanistan.
  The Taliban's crimes against women have by now become well-known. 
Against the teaching of Islam and against the will of women across 
Afghanistan, the Taliban:
  Ended education for girls over eight;
  Shut down the women's university;
  Forbade women doctors from practicing medicine; and
  Then forbade women from receiving care from male doctors.
  This deliberate, cruel treatment compounded the suffering of more 
than 20 years of war, extreme poverty, and drought in Afghanistan to 
create a dire health situation for women and children. Afghanistan has 
the world's second worst maternal death rate during childbirth. One 
hundred sixty five out of every thousand babies die before their first 
birthday. The Taliban has done untold harm to its own people with these 
actions, and we must now help repair the damage done.
  Rebuilding Afghanistan is part of the promise we have made to provide 
a comprehensive solution to the root causes of terrorism. We must offer 
hope to the people of Afghanistan, and we must work toward creating a 
stable Afghan government.
  Aid to the women and children of Afghanistan will accomplish both of 
these goals. It will improve the lives of millions and increase 
opportunities for all members of Afghan society--including women--to 
have their voices heard.
  The overwhelming bipartisan support by Congress today demonstrates 
that our support is no short-term political ploy. We are here for the 
long haul, and we expect to see results.
  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 1573.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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