[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3976-3977]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 418--RECOGNIZING HAFSAT ABIOLA, KHANIM LATIF, YOANI 
 SANCHEZ, AND AKANKSHA HAZARI FOR THEIR SELFLESSNESS AND DEDICATION TO 
            THEIR RESPECTIVE CAUSES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 418

       Whereas women's leadership in the world is critical to 
     shaping and addressing world events and decreasing global 
     instability;
       Whereas women leaders play an integral role in fighting 
     against transnational organized crime, human trafficking, and 
     violence against women, including honor killings, and female 
     genital mutilation;
       Whereas changing the trajectory of these dynamics requires 
     empowering women leaders to advance economic opportunity and 
     increase political and public leadership;
       Whereas women leaders have selflessly sacrificed, and in 
     some cases placed their lives at risk, to advance causes that 
     will better their communities, their nations, and the world;
       Whereas Hafsat Abiola of Nigeria, founder of the Kudirat 
     Initiative for Democracy, campaigns to end violence against 
     women, trains young female leaders, and works to increase 
     civic participation;
       Whereas Khanim Latif of Iraq, the Director of Asuda, places 
     her life at risk to provide safe haven to victims of sexual 
     and gender-based violence, and fights threats of honor 
     killings and female genital cutting;
       Whereas Yoani Sanchez of Cuba, founder of ``Generacion Y'', 
     created a blog that captures daily life in Cuba as an effort 
     to encourage political change and increase public awareness 
     and engagement;
       Whereas Akanksha Hazari of India fights to deliver basic 
     necessities such as clean water and electricity to 
     impoverished communities and to empower the underserved in 
     India; and
       Whereas each of these leaders serves as a role model and an 
     inspiration to help change the lives of others: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes Hafsat Abiola, Khanim Latif, Yoani Sanchez, 
     and Akanksha Hazari for their selflessness and dedication to 
     their respective causes; and
       (2) commends their efforts to advance economic opportunity, 
     increase political and public leadership, combat violence 
     against women, and empower women to address global 
     instability.

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to honor and congratulate the 
Vital Voices Global Partnership and the 2016 Vital Voices Award 
recipients: Hafsat Abiola, Khanim Latif, Yoani Sanchez, and Akanksha 
Hazari.
  The Vital Voices Global Partnership identifies, invests in, and 
brings visibility to extraordinary women around the world by unleashing 
their leadership potential to transform lives and accelerate peace and 
prosperity. Vital Voices equips such leaders with the management, 
business development, marketing, and communications skills required to 
expand their enterprises, to provide for their families, and create 
jobs in their communities. Vital Voices seeks to empower these women 
leaders to create a better world for us all.
  The Vital Voices Global Partnership has trained and mentored over 
14,000 women in 144 countries over the last 15 years, in addition to 
this year's award recipients Hafsat Abiola of Nigeria, founder of the 
Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, campaigns to end violence against 
women, trains young female leaders, and works to increase civic 
participation. Khanim Latif of Iraq, the Director of Asuda, places her 
life at risk to provide safe haven to victims of sexual and gender-
based violence, and fights threats of honor killings and female genital 
cutting. Yoani Sanchez of Cuba, founder of ``Generacion Y'', created a 
blog that captures daily life in Cuba in an effort to encourage 
political change and increase public awareness and engagement; and 
Akanksha Hazari of India fights to deliver basic necessities such as 
clean water and electricity to impoverished communities and to empower 
the underserved in India.
  Such leaders, supported by the Vital Voices Global Partnership Fund, 
and through their selfless efforts and advocacy, continue to advance 
social justice, support democracy, and strengthen the rule of law 
across the globe.
  With this in mind, I am pleased to offer this resolution with Senator 
Feinstein.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise in support of a resolution, 
submitted by Senator Collins, to honor four women recently recognized 
by the Vital Voices Global Partnership.
  This is a global organization that identifies, supports, and 
highlights women around the world who exhibit leadership to transform 
their communities.
  I am pleased to sponsor this resolution with Senator Collins.

[[Page 3977]]

  The four women honored by this resolution are leaders who have made a 
true difference in their countries in the face of adversity.
  Hafsat Abiola of Nigeria founded the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy 
to end violence against women in Nigeria and remove barriers for the 
civic participation of women. She has been actively working on gender 
equality and women's leadership in Nigeria since she was a teenager, 
and continues to advance women's rights.
  Khanim Latif of Iraq is the Director of Asuda, which works to combat 
sexual and gender-based violence in Iraq. She has worked on gender-
based violence issues in Iraq for over 15 years, and has helped provide 
refuge to women subjected to horrific violence in her country, 
including to those who have been subjected to ISIL's violent campaign 
against the region's Yazidi population.
  Yoani Sanchez of Cuba founded ``Generacion Y,'' a platform to capture 
daily life in Cuba as an effort to encourage political change. It 
stemmed from her personal experiences growing up in Cuba, and the 
experiences of her family.
  Akanksha Hazari of India works to empower impoverished, rural 
communities in India. She has done this by pioneering a loyalty 
program--through mobile phones--to provide social goods such as clean 
water to rural customers in India.
  These women were recognized by Vital Voices because they have made 
significant strides to better the communities in which they live, and 
they continue to do so.
  The resolution, submitted by Senator Collins and myself, further 
recognizes their contributions, and I hope that we can all draw 
inspiration from their leadership.
  I congratulate these women, and look forward to hearing about their 
continued success.

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