A bill to require the Department of Defense to develop a strategy to promote the security of Afghan women and girls during the security transition process.

Summary: Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to submit to the congressional defense and foreign relations committees a Department of Defense (DOD) strategy to promote the security of Afghan women during the security transition process.

Requires such strategy to include a strategy to: (1) monitor and respond to changes in women's security conditions in areas undergoing transition, (2) increase gender awareness and responsiveness among Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP) personnel, and (3) increase the number of female members of the ANA and ANP.

Directs the Secretary to include in each report on progress toward security and stability in Afghanistan (as required under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008) a description of actions taken to implement the above strategy.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Afghan Women and Girls Security 
Promotion Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. STRATEGY FOR PROMOTING THE SECURITY OF AFGHAN WOMEN AND GIRLS 
              DURING THE SECURITY TRANSITION PROCESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to the Department of Defense's April 2012 
        Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in 
        Afghanistan:
                    (A) ``U.S. and coalition forces will continue to 
                degrade the Taliban-led insurgency in order to provide 
                time and space to increase the capacity of the Afghan 
                National Security Forces and the Afghan Government so 
                they can assume full responsibility for Afghanistan's 
                security by the end of 2014.''.
                    (B) ``Transition to Afghan security lead began in 
                July 2011 and transition to full Afghan security 
                responsibility will be complete country-wide by the end 
                of 2014.''.
                    (C) ``The security of the Afghan people and the 
                stability of the government are used to judge 
                provincial readiness to move to each successive stage 
                of transition implementation.''.
                    (D) For each area designated for transition, a 
                transition implementation plan is developed by the 
                Government of Afghanistan, NATO, and ISAF and approved 
                by the Joint Afghan-NATO Inteqal Board (JANIB). JANIB 
                is also responsible for recommending areas to enter and 
                exit the transition process.
            (2) According to a 2002 study on Women, Peace and Security 
        submitted by the Secretary-General of the United Nations 
        pursuant to Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), ``the 
        suspension of or restriction on women's enjoyment of their 
        human rights'' can act as an early-warning indicator of 
        impending or renewed conflict. In Afghanistan, restrictions on 
        women's mobility and rights can signal the presence of 
        extremist or insurgent elements in a community.
            (3) The security of Afghan women and girls in areas 
        undergoing security transitions will be an important gauge of 
        the transition strategy's success. Indicators by which to 
        measure women's security include the mobility of women and 
        girls, the participation of women in local government bodies, 
        the rate of school attendance for girls, women's access to 
        government services, and the prevalence of violence against 
        women.
            (4) Maintaining and improving physical security for Afghan 
        women and girls throughout the country is critical in order for 
        women and girls to take advantage of opportunities in 
        education, commerce, politics, and other areas of public life, 
        which in turn is essential for the future stability and 
        prosperity of Afghanistan.
            (5) Women who serve as public officials at all levels of 
        the Government of Afghanistan face serious threats to their 
        personal security and that of their families. Many female 
        officials have been the victims of violent crimes, but they are 
        generally not afforded official protection by the Government of 
        Afghanistan or security forces.
            (6) Protecting the security and human rights of Afghan 
        women and girls requires the involvement of Afghan men and boys 
        through education about the important benefits of women's full 
        participation in social, economic, and political life. Male 
        officials and security personnel can play a particularly 
        important role in supporting and protecting women and girls.
            (7) The Chicago Summit Declaration issued by NATO in May 
        2012 states: ``As the Afghan National Police further develop 
        and professionalize, they will evolve towards a sustainable, 
        credible, and accountable civilian law enforcement force that 
        will shoulder the main responsibility for domestic security. 
        This force should be capable of providing policing services to 
        the Afghan population as part of the broader Afghan rule of law 
        system.''.
            (8) Women face significant barriers to full participation 
        in the ANA and ANP, including a discriminatory or hostile work 
        environment and the lack of separate facilities designed for 
        female personnel.
            (9) As of September 2012, female recruitment and retention 
        rates for the Afghan National Security Forces are far below 
        published targets, as follows:
                    (A) Approximately 1,700 women serve in the Afghan 
                National Security Forces, or less than half of one 
                percent of the total force.
                    (B) In 2010, President Hamid Karzai announced plans 
                to recruit and train 5,000 women in the Afghan National 
                Police, or approximately 3 percent of the force, by 
                2014. Currently, there are approximately 1,370 women in 
                the ANP, or 0.87 percent of the police force.
                    (C) Approximately 350 women currently serve in the 
                Afghan National Army, representing only 0.17 percent of 
                the force. The Government of Afghanistan has said that 
                its goal is to achieve a force that is 10 percent 
                female. As of May 2012, approximately 3 percent of new 
                ANA recruits were women.
            (10) Male security personnel often do not respond to 
        threats or incidences of violence against women, particularly 
        at the local level. They largely lack the training and 
        understanding needed to respond appropriately and effectively 
        to situations involving women. According to the Department of 
        Defense's April 2012 Report on Progress Toward Security and 
        Stability in Afghanistan:
                    (A) The Afghan Ministry of Defense ``lacks the 
                combination of policies, procedures, and execution to 
                promote opportunity and fair and respectful treatment 
                of women in the force''.
                    (B) The Afghan Ministry of Interior ``faces 
                significant challenges in fully integrating and 
                protecting women in the ANP workforce, especially among 
                operational units at the provincial and district 
                levels''.
                    (C) In the Afghan National Police, ``Many 
                Provincial Headquarters Commanders do not accept 
                policewomen, as they prefer male candidates and lack 
                adequate facilities to support females.''.
                    (D) ``While women are greatly needed to support 
                police operations, a combination of cultural 
                impediments, weak recruitment, and uneven application 
                of policies hinder significant progress.''.
                    (E) ``Although stronger documentation, 
                implementation, and enforcement of policies, 
                procedures, and guidance to better integrate women will 
                help, time will be needed to change the cultural mores 
                that form the basis of many of the current 
                impediments.''.
            (11) The United States, the North American Treaty 
        Organization, and United States coalition partners have made 
        firm commitments to support the human rights of the women and 
        girls of Afghanistan, as evidenced by the following actions:
                    (A) According to the United States National Action 
                Plan on Women, Peace and Security, ``integrating women 
                and gender considerations into peace-building processes 
                helps promote democratic governance and long-term 
                stability,'' which are key United States strategic 
                goals in Afghanistan.
                    (B) The National Action Plan also states that ``the 
                engagement and protection of women as agents of peace 
                and stability will be central to United States efforts 
                to promote security, prevent, respond to, and resolve 
                conflict, and rebuild societies.'' This policy applies 
                to United States Government efforts in Afghanistan, 
                where addressing the security vulnerabilities of Afghan 
                women and girls during the period of security 
                transition is an essential step toward long-term 
                stability.
                    (C) The Chicago Summit Declaration issued by NATO 
                in May 2012 states: ``We emphasize the importance of 
                full participation of all Afghan women in the 
                reconstruction, political, peace and reconciliation 
                processes in Afghanistan and the need to respect the 
                institutional arrangements protecting their rights. We 
                remain committed to the implementation of United 
                Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on 
                women, peace and security. We recognize also the need 
                for the protection of children from the damaging 
                effects of armed conflict as required in relevant 
                UNSCRs.''.
            (12) The Strategic Partnership Agreement signed between the 
        United States and Afghanistan by President Obama and President 
        Karzai in June 2012 states, ``Consistent with its Constitution 
        and international obligations, Afghanistan shall ensure and 
        advance the essential role of women in society, so that they 
        may fully enjoy their economic, social, political, civil and 
        cultural rights.''.
    (b) Strategy To Promote Security of Afghan Women.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in 
        concurrence with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a strategy to be 
        implemented by the Department of Defense, working with the NATO 
        Training Mission Afghanistan (NTM-A) and Afghan partners, to 
        promote the security of Afghan women during the security 
        transition process.
            (2) Elements.--The strategy required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following elements:
                    (A) A strategy to monitor and respond to changes in 
                women's security conditions in areas undergoing 
                transition, including the following actions:
                            (i) Seeking to designate a Civilian Impact 
                        Advisor on the Joint Afghan-NATO Inteqal Board 
                        (JANIB) to assess the impact of transition on 
                        male and female civilians and ensure that 
                        efforts to protect women's rights and security 
                        are included in each area's transition 
                        implementation plan.
                            (ii) Reviewing existing indicators against 
                        which sex-disaggregated data is collected and, 
                        if necessary, developing additional indicators, 
                        to ensure the availability of data that can be 
                        used to measure women's security, such as--
                                    (I) the mobility of women and 
                                girls;
                                    (II) the participation of women in 
                                local government bodies;
                                    (III) the rate of school attendance 
                                for girls;
                                    (IV) women's access to government 
                                services; and
                                    (V) the prevalence of violence 
                                against women; and incorporating those 
                                indicators into ongoing efforts to 
                                assess overall security conditions 
                                during the transition period.
                            (iii) Integrating assessments of women's 
                        security into current procedures used to 
                        determine an area's readiness to proceed 
                        through the transition process.
                            (iv) Working with Afghan partners, 
                        coalition partners, and relevant United States 
                        Government departments and agencies to take 
                        concrete action to support women's rights and 
                        security in cases of deterioration in women's 
                        security conditions during the transition 
                        period.
                    (B) A strategy to increase gender awareness and 
                responsiveness among Afghan National Army and Afghan 
                National Police personnel, including the following 
                actions:
                            (i) Working with Afghan and coalition 
                        partners to utilize training curricula and 
                        programming that addresses the human rights of 
                        women and girls, appropriate responses to 
                        threats against women and girls, and 
                        appropriate behavior toward female colleagues 
                        and members of the community; assessing the 
                        quality and consistency of this training across 
                        regional commands; and assessing the impact of 
                        this training on trainee behavior.
                            (ii) Working with national and local ANA 
                        and ANP leaders to develop and utilize 
                        enforcement and accountability mechanisms for 
                        ANA and ANP personnel who violate codes of 
                        conduct related to the human rights of women 
                        and girls.
                            (iii) Working with Afghan and coalition 
                        partners to implement the above tools and 
                        develop uniform methods and standards for 
                        training and enforcement among coalition 
                        partners and across regions.
                    (C) A strategy to increase the number of female 
                members of the ANA and ANP, including the following 
                actions:
                            (i) Providing, through consultation with 
                        Afghan partners, realistic and achievable 
                        objectives for the recruitment and retention of 
                        women to the ANA and ANP by the end of the 
                        security transition period in 2014.
                            (ii) Working with national and local ANA 
                        and ANP leaders and coalition partners to 
                        address physical and cultural challenges to the 
                        recruitment and retention of female ANA and ANP 
                        personnel, including through targeted 
                        recruitment campaigns, expanded training and 
                        mentorship opportunities, parity in pay and 
                        promotion rates with male counterparts, and 
                        availability of facilities for female 
                        personnel.
                            (iii) Working with national and local ANA 
                        and ANP leaders to increase understanding about 
                        the unique ways in which women members of the 
                        security forces improve the force's overall 
                        effectiveness.
                            (iv) Working with national and local ANA 
                        and ANP leaders to develop a plan for 
                        maintaining and increasing the recruitment and 
                        retention of women in the ANA and ANP following 
                        the completion of the security transition.
            (3) Report.--The Secretary of Defense shall include in each 
        report on progress toward security and stability in Afghanistan 
        that is submitted to Congress under sections 1230 and 1231 of 
        the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 
        (Public Law 110-181; 122 Stat. 385, 390) a section describing 
        actions taken to implement the strategy required under this 
        subsection.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.