[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3695-3696]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am pleased to commemorate 
International Women's Day, celebrated on March 8. International Women's 
Day gives us all an opportunity to reflect on women's accomplishments 
around the world and to reaffirm our commitment to continuing the 
vitally important work of securing and advancing women's rights, 
particularly their health, education, and security.
  Today, we can all marvel at the outstanding contributions that women 
make every day to their communities, their countries, and the entire 
world. We can reflect on the work of Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel 
Peace Prize winner, whose brave and insistent voice on behalf of human 
rights and environmental protection found an audience not just on the 
global stage, and not just among elites in government, but among the 
women of her country, who have made the Green Belt Movement a success. 
We can celebrate the bravery of Afghan women, who have participated in 
elections even as the memory of the Taliban's brutal repression of 
their rights remains so fresh. Women accounted for 41 percent of the 
October 2004 vote in Afghanistan, and women hold 102 seats of 
Afghanistan's Constitutional Loya Jirga. We can reflect on the 
wonderful welcome that Dora Bakoyiannis, the mayor of Athens, extended 
to the world during this year's Olympic ceremonies.
  But in too many parts of the world, the basic human rights of women 
are violated with impunity. Human rights groups continue to report 
rampant violence, abuse, and rape of tens of thousands of women and 
children by militants in Eastern Congo who are rarely, if ever, brought 
to justice. The murders of more than 370 women in the Chihuahua state 
of Mexico since 1993 remain unsolved. Thirty more women have been 
killed there since 2004 and the lack of progress in these cases of 
brutal violence and sexual assault against women from the cities of 
Juarez and Chihuahua is deeply disturbing. The internally displaced 
women of Darfur, Sudan, too often are confronted with a horrible 
choice--collect firewood and risk being raped by jinjaweit militia, or 
watch their children go hungry. I have authored or cosponsored 
legislative initiatives to address each of these crises, but I know 
that solutions will require hard work over the long term. I also 
support the U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of 
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW. Ratification of the 
treaty would send an important message to the international community 
about our commitment to the rights of women and girls.

[[Page 3696]]

  The global, rapid progression of HIV/AIDS infection, especially in 
women, is undeniable. More than 40 million adults and children are 
infected with HIV/AIDS and over 20 million are women. UNAIDS reports 
that women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa make up 57 percent of HIV-
positive persons in this region. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region 
in which women are infected with the virus at a higher rate than men. 
In sub-Saharan Africa, between the ages of 15 to 24, there are on 
average 36 women testing positive for HIV for every 10 males. As the 
ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee 
on African Affairs, I have had the opportunity to travel to numerous 
countries in Africa and see firsthand the devastating toll that HIV/
AIDS and other infectious diseases are taking on the people of this 
continent. We must find concrete ways to address the special 
vulnerabilities of women and girls in our HIV/AID prevention and 
treatment programs.
  Nearly 100 million children worldwide are not receiving an education, 
nearly two-thirds of them female. In countries such as Uganda and 
Nigeria, some teachers are expected to instruct anywhere from 175 to 
215 students, singlehandedly. The education of girls regularly takes a 
back seat to that of their male siblings and to the needs of the family 
in many parts of the world. In order to combat global diseases, halt 
violence against women, and enhance women's rights, ensuring girls are 
educated must be a global community priority.
  In short, while there are shining examples of progress in women's 
rights, we have much more to do. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting the efforts I have described and others to improve the lives 
of women.

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