III

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 68

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment of women and

girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 17, 1999

Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mr. BROWNBACK) submitted the following

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment

of women and girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Whereas more than 11,000,000 women and girls living under

Taliban rule in Afghanistan are denied their basic human

rights;

Whereas according to the Department of State and international human rights organizations, the Taliban continues to commit widespread and well-documented human

rights abuses, in gross violation of internationally accepted norms;

Whereas, according to the United States Department of State

Country Report on Human Rights Practices (hereafter

‘‘1998 State Department Human Rights Report’’), violence against women in Afghanistan occurs frequently,
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•SRES 68 IS

including beatings, rapes, forced marriages, disappearances, kidnapings, and killings;

Whereas women and girls in Afghanistan are barred from

working, going to school, leaving their homes without an

immediate male family member as chaperone, visiting

doctors, hospitals or clinics, and receiving humanitarian

aid;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, gender restrictions by the Taliban continue to interfere with the delivery of humanitarian assistance to women and girls in Afghanistan;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, women in Afghanistan are forced to don

a head-to-toe garment known as a burqa, which has only

a mesh screen for vision, and women in Afghanistan

found in public not wearing a burqa, or wearing a burqa

that does not properly cover the ankles, are beaten by

Taliban militiamen;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, some poor women in Afghanistan cannot

afford the cost of a burqa and thus are forced to remain

at home or risk beatings if they go outside the home

without one;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, the lack of a burqa has resulted in the inability of some women in Afghanistan to get necessary

medical care because they cannot leave home;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, women in Afghanistan are reportedly

beaten if their shoe heels click when they walk;
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•SRES 68 IS

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, women in homes in Afghanistan must not

be visible from the street, and houses with female occupants must have their windows painted over;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, women in Afghanistan are not allowed to

drive, and taxi drivers reportedly are beaten if they take

unescorted women as passengers;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, women in Afghanistan are forbidden to

enter mosques or other places of worship; and

Whereas women and girls of all ages in Afghanistan have suffered needlessly and even died from curable illness because they have been turned away from health care facilities because of their gender: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—

2 (1) the President should instruct the United

3 States Representative to the United Nations to use

4 all appropriate means to prevent the Taliban-led

5 government in Afghanistan from obtaining the seat

6 in the United Nations General Assembly reserved for

7 Afghanistan so long as gross violations of inter8 nationally recognized human rights against women

9 and girls persist; and

10 (2) the United States should refuse to recognize

11 any government in Afghanistan which is not taking

12 actions to achieve the following goals in Afghanistan:
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1 (A) The effective participation of women in

2 all civil, economic, and social life.

3 (B) The right of women to work.

4 (C) The right of women and girls to an

5 education without discrimination and the re6 opening of schools to women and girls at all lev7 els of education.

8 (D) The freedom of movement of women

9 and girls.

10 (E) Equal access of women and girls to

11 health facilities.

12 (F) Equal access of women and girls to

13 humanitarian aid.

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