Afghan Women Act of 2001 Introduced in Congress

U.S. Representatives Constance Morella (R–Md.) and Carolyn Maloney (D–N.Y.) last week introduced into Congress the Access for Afghan Women Act of 2001, H.R. 3342. The bill outlines the concrete and specific steps the United States should take to ensure that women in Afghanistan have a voice in the future of the country and that Afghan women get the relief aid that they desperately need.

The Bush administration launched a major communications campaign to educate the American public about the suffering of women under the Taliban government in Afghanistan. H.R. 3342 is intended to ensure not only that the United States recognizes women in its rhetoric but also that the White House makes women a real priority in the peace negotiations and the design of the future government of Afghanistan. The Access for Afghan Women Act requires the U.S. government to

ensure that the full range of human rights of women are included in any constitution or legal structure of a future government in Afghanistan by including a significant number of women in the drafting of a new constitution;

provide financial and programmatic assistance for the efforts of Afghan women’s organizations that represent the various ethnic groups;

provide financial assistance for primary, secondary, and higher education for all individuals in Afghanistan;

provide financial assistance to build health infrastructure and to deliver women-centered health programs, particularly comprehensive and high-quality reproductive health and family planning services;

promote women-centered economic development programs, including programs to assist widows and female heads of household;

provide assistance to rehabilitate children affected by the conflict, particularly child soldiers;

take all necessary steps to protect women refugees in camps, urban areas, and villages from violence; and

take all necessary steps to ensure that women refugees in camps, urban areas, and villages fleeing from the conflict situation in Afghanistan are directly receiving food aid, shelter, relief supplies, and other services from U.S.-sponsored programs.

What you can do. The Access for Afghan Women Act will not pass unless there is pressure from women and men around the country. Call your representative. Tell her or him that it is very important that women are involved in the peace building and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Women need to be at the negotiating table, as well as at the center of U.S. development programs. The Access for Afghan Women Act ensures that women are consulted and included in peace negotiations and women’s full range of human rights are part of any new constitution of Afghanistan. The United States, as a global leader, is the only country that can ensure that this happens. The bill also makes certain that U.S. tax dollars sent to Afghanistan will really reach and help women.
To find your representative go to www.house.gov and type in your zip code. For more information about H.R. 3342 go to the Women's EDGE Web site at www.womensedge.org. You may also contact Wendy Pollack, National Center on Poverty Law, at 312.263.3830 ext. 238 or wendypollack@povertylaw.org.

November 27, 2001