Protect Women's and Girls’ Rights in Afghanistan Act of 2021
Bill: S.1642 | Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Protect Women's and Girls' Rights in Afghanistan Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of State to periodically report to Congress on the conditions of women and girls in Afghan civil society following the departure of U.S. and NATO forces. The reports shall also assess the status of assurances made by the Taliban related to preserving the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

To require the Secretary of State to submit a report on the status of 
        women and girls in Afghanistan, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Women's and Girls' Rights in 
Afghanistan Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. AFGHAN CIVIL SOCIETY DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``Afghan civil society'' means the range of 
formal and informal organizations in Afghanistan that reflect community 
interests and deliver some essential services.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) A large-scale withdrawal of United States Armed Forces 
        from Afghanistan will pose a risk to those who are the most 
        vulnerable in Afghanistan, especially women and girls.
            (2) When the Taliban governed Afghanistan from 1996 to 
        2001, it barred women and girls from taking most jobs or going 
        to school and practically made them prisoners in their own 
        homes based on its extremist religious ideology. Further, the 
        Taliban brutally imposed social restrictions on women, such as 
        mandatory burqa coverings, and restricted their access to 
        health care. The Taliban also prohibited women from appearing 
        in public spaces without a male chaperone and imposed extremely 
        violent punishments, often publicly, upon women for breaking 
        its decrees.
            (3) The women of Afghanistan have achieved much since the 
        fall of the Taliban government, even as insecurity, 
        underdevelopment, and patriarchal norms continue to limit their 
        rights and opportunities in much of Afghanistan.
            (4) Through strong support from the United States and the 
        international community--
                    (A) female enrollment in public schools in 
                Afghanistan has risen from zero in 2001 to more than 
                3,000,000 in 2010; and
                    (B) as of 2019--
                            (i) millions of women in Afghanistan have 
                        voted, and 25 percent of parliamentarians in 
                        Afghanistan are women;
                            (ii) women held 13 seats as ministers and 
                        deputy ministers and 4 women served as 
                        ambassadors; and
                            (iii) beyond government, women served as 
                        university instructors and professors, judges, 
                        prosecutors, defense attorneys, police and army 
                        personnel, health professionals, journalists, 
                        and entrepreneurs.
            (5) Women's empowerment continues to serve United States 
        primary interests in Afghanistan because women are sources of 
        both peace and economic progress in the country.
            (6) If the United States military withdraws and the Taliban 
        regains influence, the United States will have little ability 
        to preserve the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, and 
        there is fear that those women and girls will again be 
        vulnerable to intimidation and marginalization.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) since 2001, Afghan civil society has emerged as an 
        important engine of social and political development;
            (2) any future political order in Afghanistan should not 
        only secure the gains made in democratic, political, human, and 
        women's rights, but also work to increase the ability of women 
        to be treated equally throughout society because respecting 
        rights is essential to securing a lasting peace and reflects 
        the will of the Afghan people;
            (3) the United States must endeavor to preserve the hard-
        won gains of the past 2 decades, particularly as related to the 
        role and protection of women and girls in civil society; and
            (4) long-term stability in Afghanistan can best be achieved 
        and maintained by an inclusive Afghan government that is 
        responsive to the needs of all its diverse communities and 
        respects the rights of all its citizens, especially women.

SEC. 5. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES REGARDING THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND 
              GIRLS OF AFGHANISTAN.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to continue to support the rights of women and girls in 
        Afghan civil society after the withdrawal of the Armed Forces 
        of the United States from Afghanistan;
            (2) to strongly oppose any return to political arrangements 
        that would significantly weaken the rights of women in 
        Afghanistan;
            (3) to refuse to provide economic aid to an Afghan 
        government (whether including or controlled by the Taliban) if 
        such government does not maintain minimal standards, statutory 
        or otherwise, of women's rights, such as by denying women 
        access to health care and primary and secondary education, 
        prohibiting women from appearing outside of a household without 
        a male relative, or disqualifying women from jobs on the basis 
        of gender;
            (4) to instruct, as appropriate, representatives of the 
        United States Government to use the voice, aid, and influence 
        of the United States directly with the Government of 
        Afghanistan and the Taliban, and at the United Nations, to 
        preserve the civil and human rights of the women and girls of 
        Afghanistan;
            (5) to continue providing the United States aid and 
        assistance necessary to preserve the rights of women and girls 
        in Afghanistan so that they may continue to pursue educational 
        and professional opportunities and be equal members of Afghan 
        civil society; and
            (6) to identify individuals who violate the basic rights of 
        women in Afghanistan, as those rights are defined by the 
        Constitution of Afghanistan or set by minimal international 
        human right standards, such as by committing murder, lynching, 
        and grievous domestic violence against women, and to ensure 
        those individuals are brought to justice, prosecuted, and 
        imprisoned.

SEC. 6. REPORT.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and every 180 days thereafter through 2024, the Secretary of State 
shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a 
report that includes the following:
            (1) An assessment of the conditions of women and girls in 
        Afghan civil society following the departure of United States 
        and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces, including 
        the access of those women and girls to primary and secondary 
        education, jobs, health care, and equal status in society as 
        compared to men.
            (2) An assessment of the status of any assurances made by 
        the Taliban related to preserving the rights of women and girls 
        in Afghanistan, including the access of those women and girls 
        to primary and secondary education, jobs, health care, and 
        equal status in society as compared to men.
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