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, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. REID,

Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. WELLSTONE, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr.

FEINGOLD, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SANTORUM, Ms.

SNOWE, Mr. SPECTER, and Mrs. MURRAY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

MARCH 23, 1999

Reported by Mr. HELMS, without amendment

MAY 5, 1999

Considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the treatment

of women and girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Whereas millions of women and girls living under Taliban

rule 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;
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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,

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

Whereas women and girls under Taliban rule are generally

barred from working, going to school, leaving their homes

without an immediate male family member as chaperone,

and visiting doctors, hospitals or clinics;

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, under Taliban rule women are forced to

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

only a mesh screen for vision, and many women 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 under Taliban rule 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 under Taliban rule to get necessary medical care because they cannot leave home;
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Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, women under Taliban rule reportedly have

been beaten if their shoe heels click when they walk;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, under Taliban rule women in homes 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, under Taliban rule women are not allowed

to drive, and taxi drivers reportedly have been beaten if

they take unescorted women as passengers;

Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human

Rights Report, women under Taliban rule are forbidden

to enter mosques or other places of worship; and

Whereas women and girls of all ages under Taliban rule 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

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

(1) the President should instruct the United States

Representative to the United Nations to use all appropriate means to prevent any Taliban-led government in

Afghanistan from obtaining the seat in the United Nations General Assembly reserved for Afghanistan so long

as gross violations of internationally recognized human

rights against women and girls persist; and
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(2) the United States should refuse to recognize any

government in Afghanistan which is not taking actions

to achieve the following goals in Afghanistan:

(A) The effective participation of women in all

civil, economic, and social life.

(B) The right of women to work.

(C) The right of women and girls to an education without discrimination and the reopening of

schools to women and girls at all levels of education.

(D) The freedom of movement of women and

girls.

(E) Equal access of women and girls to health

facilities.

(F) Equal access of women and girls to humanitarian aid.

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