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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 294 Introduced in House (IH)]

110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 294

  Commending the Kingdom of Lesotho, on the occasion of International 
   Women's Day, for the enactment of a law to improve the status of 
   married women and ensure the access of married women to property 
                                rights.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2007

  Ms. Watson (for herself, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, and Ms. Clarke) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  Commending the Kingdom of Lesotho, on the occasion of International 
   Women's Day, for the enactment of a law to improve the status of 
   married women and ensure the access of married women to property 
                                rights.

Whereas International Women's Day, observed on March 8 each year, has become a 
        day on which people come together to recognize the accomplishments of 
        women and to reaffirm their commitment to continue the struggle for 
        equality, justice, and peace;
Whereas the Kingdom of Lesotho is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy that 
        has been an independent country since 1966;
Whereas Lesotho is a low-income country with a gross national income per capita 
        of $960 and 50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line;
Whereas, in Lesotho, the HIV prevalence is estimated at 23 percent for the total 
        adult population and 56 percent for pregnant women between the ages of 
        25 and 29, and the current average life expectancy at birth is estimated 
        to be 34.4 years;
Whereas the Kingdom of Lesotho, referred to by some as the ``Kingdom in the 
        Sky'', was a strong public supporter of the end of apartheid in South 
        Africa and the Government of Lesotho granted political asylum to a 
        number of refugees from South Africa during the apartheid era;
Whereas the Government of Lesotho has demonstrated a strong commitment to ruling 
        justly, investing in people, ensuring economic freedom, and controlling 
        corruption;
Whereas the Government of Lesotho has been named eligible by the Millennium 
        Challenge Corporation (MCC) for a Compact of financial assistance that, 
        as currently proposed, would strongly focus on improving and 
        safeguarding the health of the people of Lesotho, in addition to 
        supporting projects for sustainable water resource management and 
        private sector development;
Whereas, historically, a married woman in Lesotho was considered a legal minor 
        during the lifetime of her husband, was severely restricted in economic 
        activities, was unable to enter into legally binding contracts without 
        her husband's consent, and had no standing in civil court;
Whereas legislation elevating the legal status of married women and providing 
        property and inheritance rights to women in Lesotho was introduced as 
        early as 1992;
Whereas for years women's groups, nongovernmental organizations, the Federation 
        of Women Lawyers, officials of the Government of Lesotho, and others in 
        Lesotho have pushed for passage of legislation strengthening rights of 
        married women;
Whereas in a letter to the Government of Lesotho in September 2006, the chief 
        executive officer of the MCC stated that gender inequality is a 
        constraint on economic growth and poverty reduction and is related to 
        the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and that inattention to issues of 
        gender inequality could undermine the potential impact of the Compact 
        proposed to be entered into between the MCC and the Government of 
        Lesotho;
Whereas the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act was passed by the Parliament 
        of Lesotho and enacted into law in November 2006;
Whereas the MCC has already provided assistance to further full and meaningful 
        implementation of the new law;
Whereas the MCC has promulgated and is currently implementing a new gender 
        policy to integrate gender into all phases of the development and 
        implementation of the Compact between the MCC and the Government of 
        Lesotho; and
Whereas the MCC's advocacy of gender equity played a supportive role in the 
        enactment of the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act in the Kingdom of 
        Lesotho: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the goals of International Women's Day;
            (2) applauds the enactment of the Legal Capacity of Married 
        Persons Act by the Kingdom of Lesotho;
            (3) lauds the Kingdom of Lesotho for demonstrating its 
        commitment to improve gender equity;
            (4) encourages the Kingdom of Lesotho to continue its 
        effort to ensure gender equity; and
            (5) commends the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for 
        developing and implementing policies to advance gender equity 
        in the Kingdom of Lesotho and other countries eligible for 
        financial assistance from the MCC.
                                 <all>
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