[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 12 (Monday, March 25, 2002)]
[Page 435]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

March 16, 2002

    Good morning. In one week, boys and girls in Afghanistan will start 
a new school year. For many girls, this will be the first time in their 
young lives that they will have set foot in a classroom. Under the 
Taliban regime, educating women was a criminal act. Under the new 
government of a liberated Afghanistan, educating all children is a 
national priority. And America along with its coalition partners is 
actively helping in that effort.
    When Afghan children begin their classes, they will find that the 
United States has already sent more than 4 million textbooks to their 
country. The textbooks are written in the Afghan languages of Pashto and 
Dari. And before the end of the year we'll have sent almost 10 million 
of them to the children of Afghanistan. These textbooks will teach 
tolerance and respect for human dignity, instead of indoctrinating 
students with fanaticism and bigotry. And they will be accompanied by 
blackboards, teacher's kits, and other school supplies.
    America's children have been extremely generous in helping the 
children of Afghanistan. Through America's Fund for Afghan Children, 
they have raised more than $4.5 million, much of which is used for 
school supplies like notebooks and pencils, paper and crayons, soccer 
balls and jump ropes. The United States will also be funding 20 teams of 
teacher trainers to conduct training sessions with thousands of Afghan 
educators.
    In helping the Afghan people rebuild their country, we have placed a 
central focus on education, and for a good reason. Education is the 
pathway to progress, particularly for women. Educated women tend to be 
healthier than those who are not well educated, and the same is true of 
their families. Babies born to educated women are more likely to be 
immunized, better nourished, and survive their first year of life. 
Educated women encourage their children to be educated as well. And 
nations whose women are educated are more competitive, more prosperous, 
and more advanced than nations where the education of women is forbidden 
or ignored.
    We still have a lot of work to do in Afghanistan. The brave men and 
women of the American military continue to fight Al Qaida forces that 
are trying to regroup and would like nothing more than to strike America 
again. And even as we fight terror, American compassion is providing an 
alternative to bitterness, resentment, and hatred.
    The United States has helped Afghanistan avert mass starvation. 
We're repairing its roads and bridges. We're rebuilding its health 
clinics and schools. And in one week, with textbooks in hand, the young 
girls of Afghanistan will begin school. This will be a remarkable moment 
in the history of Afghanistan and a proud moment for the people of 
America.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 9:25 a.m. on March 14 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on March 16. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
March 15 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.