IV
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 26
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Taliban-led Government
in Afghanistan.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 8, 2001
Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. ROHRABACHER, and Mr.
HOYER) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Taliban-
led Government 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 inter-
national human rights organizations, the Taliban con-
tinues to commit widespread and well-documented human
rights abuses, in gross violation of internationally accept-
ed norms;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State
Country Report on Human Rights Practices (hereinafter
the ‘‘1998 State Department Human Rights Report’’),
violence against women in Afghanistan occurs frequently,
•HCON 26 IH
including beatings, rapes, forced marriages, disappear-
ances, 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 con-
tinue to interfere with the delivery of humanitarian as-
sistance 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 mili-
tiamen;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human
Rights Report, some poor women under Taliban rule can-
not afford the cost of a burqa and thus are forced to re-
main 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 in-
ability of some women under Taliban rule to get nec-
essary medical care because they cannot leave home;
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
•HCON 26 IH
not be visible from the street, and houses with female oc-
cupants 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 be-
cause they have been turned away from health care facili-
ties because of their gender: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress 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 inter-
nationally recognized human rights against women
and girls persist; and
(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 civic, economic, and social life.
•HCON 26 IH
(B) The right of women to work.
(C) The right of women and girls to an
education without discrimination and the re-
opening of schools to women and girls at all lev-
els of education.
(D) The freedom of movement for women
and girls.
(E) Equal access for women and girls to
health facilities.
(F) Equal access for women and girls to
humanitarian aid.
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