[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3355]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, the world came together once again 
last week to celebrate International Women's Day. Today I want to 
belatedly commemorate that special day here on the floor of the Senate 
and welcome the passage of this year's International Women's Day 
resolution, which I am proud to say that I cosponsored on a bipartisan 
basis with my colleague Senator Collins, and we had 14 other cosponsors 
on that resolution.
  International Women's Day is observed all over the world. It honors 
the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, 
present, and future. It also highlights just how far women around the 
world still have to go and the many barriers and closed doors they 
continue to face in the fight for equal rights and opportunities.
  I want to recognize and celebrate this year's nine recipients of the 
2013 State Department International Women of Courage Awards. This 
prestigious annual award recognizes women who have shown exceptional 
leadership in advocating for women's rights and empowerment around the 
globe, often at great risk to their own well-being.
  One of those recipients I want to talk about is Razan Zeitunah. She 
is a human rights lawyer in Syria, and she has made it her mission to 
track the ongoing atrocities that have been committed by the Assad 
regime. Mrs. Zeitunah was forced into hiding after the government 
accused her of being a foreign agent when she began reporting on these 
atrocities. Despite living in fear for her life, with her husband in 
prison, Mrs. Zeitunah continues to risk so much to make sure the world 
knows all about Assad's brutal crackdown on the people of Syria.
  She is one of nine remarkable women who are being honored by the 
State Department this year, each with an equally inspirational story to 
tell.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the names of 
all nine honorees.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Malalai Bahaduri
       Tsering Woeser
       Julieta Castellanos
       Nirbhaya ``Fearless''
       Dr. Josephine Obiajulu Odumakin
       Elena Milashina
       Fartuun Adan
       Razan Zeitunah
       Ta Phong Tan

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. While I am very pleased that the Senate was able to 
take up and pass the International Women's Day resolution last night, I 
am also extremely disappointed that this bipartisan resolution was 
objected to at the eleventh hour over a clause that addressed the 
impact of our changing climate on women in developing nations, and I 
just want to read that clause.

       Whereas, according to the International Union for 
     Conservation of Nature, women in developing countries are 
     disproportionately affected by changes in climate because of 
     their need to secure water, food, and fuel for their 
     livelihood.

  That was the extent of the clause that was objected to. 
Unfortunately, this clause from the resolution was blocked by a Member 
of the Senate on the other side of the aisle. It was a clause that was 
included in the 2011 resolution that unanimously passed in the Senate.
  Just this past weekend, Navy Admiral Locklear, the commander of the 
U.S. Pacific Command, was asked during a 2-day trip to New England what 
was the biggest long-term security threat facing the Pacific region. 
His answer was very clear: climate change--this from an admiral who is 
dealing with a bellicose North Korea and escalating conflict between 
Japan and China in the East China Sea. His answer to what is the 
biggest threat to America is climate change. Yet we have one of our 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle who objected to a clause that 
points out what is very clear in data around the world, and that is the 
impact changes in our climate are having on women who are so often the 
food gatherers for their families.
  This issue of climate change is not going away anytime soon. We can 
deny that it exists, but it exists. The data is clear, and I believe we 
need to come together to address this serious concern to help other 
countries find ways of mitigating the harmful effects of climate 
change.
  Just as climate change deserves attention, we also need to continue 
our effort to promote equal rights and equal opportunities for women 
everywhere. We know that all of society benefits when women are more 
fully integrated into their communities and countries, and we need to 
remain focused on this effort. That is why International Women's Day is 
so important, and that is why passing a resolution to talk about that 
in this body is so important.
  I am sorry we couldn't agree on everything, but I do think it is 
important for us to recognize International Women's Day and also to 
point out areas of disagreement that clearly are going to remain at the 
forefront in the future.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.

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