[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6046-6047]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY STATEMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 9, 2007

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, On March 8, men and women 
around the world celebrated International Women's Day. Women have 
certainly made enormous strides but as we celebrate the recent 
successes of women in leadership here in the United States and abroad, 
we must not forget the many women and girls who are struggling to 
assert their human rights.
  The reality is that women and girls continue to suffer from 
discrimination and violence and face enormous obstacles in their 
ability to succeed in any arena. The reality is that women are still 
not equal to men.
  Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours and produce half 
of the world's food, yet earn only 1 percent of the world's income, and 
own less than 1 percent of the world's property.
  Harmful traditional practices in many nations, such as dowry murder, 
honor killings and female genital mutilation continue without signs of 
abatement. An estimated five thousand women are murdered by family 
members each year and 2 million girls and women a year are at risk of 
female genital mutilation.
  Trafficking has become a worldwide crisis which involves between 1 
and 2 million women and children each year.

[[Page 6047]]

  While many young women are taking advantage of increased 
opportunities and graduating from higher education in record numbers, 
there are many girls around the world whose choices are severely 
restricted because of their gender. Girls in various countries face 
severe violence, forced early marriage, and dangerous childbirth.
  Early marriage almost always ends formal educational opportunities 
for girls and it is estimated that in the next decade, 100 million 
girls will be married before the age of 18. In Africa, more than half 
of girls do not complete primary school education. Due to early 
childbirth and poor maternal healthcare, there are approximately 
100,000 new cases of obstetric fistula among young women every year.
  Women around the world look to the United States for leadership and 
assistance in advancing women's rights in their communities. We should 
be doing more to help them. In recognition of this need, I plan to 
reintroduce the International Women's Freedom Act, which is modeled 
after the successful International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 
(IRFA). IRFA established the U.S. Commission on International Religious 
Freedom, which over the past 7 years, has drawn attention to the 
importance of protecting religious freedom around the world. The 
Commission's annual report and recommendations has had an impact on the 
protection of human rights around the world, with many of the 
Commission's recommendations being taken up by the President, the 
Congress, and the State Department.
  The International Women's Freedom Act will, like IRFA, establish an 
office in the State Department and a U.S. Commission, which will focus 
on International Women's Rights. The Commission will draft an annual 
report on violations of women's human rights abroad and the legislation 
will force the U.S. to consider these violations when determining 
foreign policy.
  There are many women who we salute on International Women's Day for 
breaking barriers. But let us also acknowledge the women who face 
hurdles which seem insurmountable. Those women who live in desperate 
poverty, who don't have basic health care, and who fear violence from 
their own family members are the women we need to think about today.
  As a superpower, as a country of compassionate concerned citizens, as 
human beings; let's commit ourselves to doing something about the state 
of the world's most vulnerable women as we celebrate International 
Women's Day.

                          ____________________