For Immediate Release
October 10, 2003
Remarks by Mrs. Bush at Conference of the National Association of Women Judges
Remarks by Mrs. Bush
Friday, October 10, 2003
Thank you, Bea Ann, for your invitation today. And a special thanks
to Judge Kramer and to each of you for welcoming me to the conference
of the National Association of Women Judges. For a quarter of a
century, you've worked to advance equal justice and equal
representation in the courtroom. You help to educate the judiciary
about issues that affect women and children, including domestic
violence and immigration. You inspire more women to consider careers in
law and to bring their compassion to the courtroom.
Thank you for advancing the participation of women in society and
for strengthening our democracy. I'm especially pleased to hear today
that Shirin Ebadi, the first woman judge of Iran, won the Nobel Peace
Prize for promoting democracy and defending human rights - especially
those of women and children. And I hope that this global
acknowledgement of her work will inspire her country to recognize the
absolute necessity of equal rights for every man, woman, and child.
All nations face the challenge to make sure every person can
realize their full potential. No society can prosper when half of its
population is not allowed to contribute to its progress. Educated and
empowered women are vital to democracy - and important for the
development of all countries. As President Bush said in his first State
of the Union Address, "America will always stand firm for the
non-negotiable demands of human dignity, the rule of law, limits on the
power of state, respect for women, private property, free speech, equal
justice, and religious tolerance." These values are a vital part of our
humanity, and their scope includes all women and men.
The theme for your conference, Justice in America: Justice in the
World, is appropriate for a discussion not only of the law, but also of
women's rights. There can be no justice in the world unless every woman
has equal rights. The terrorist attacks of September 11th galvanized
the international community. Many of us have drawn valuable lessons
from the tragedies. People around the world are looking closely at the
roles women play in their societies. Afghanistan under the Taliban gave
the world a sobering example of how women are denied their rights and
their place in society.
Under the Taliban, women weren't allowed to go to school or to work
- they couldn't even leave their homes by themselves. They couldn't go
to the doctor if they were sick and faced having their fingernails
pulled out if they wore nail polish. Even small displays of joy were
outlawed - children weren't allowed to fly kites, and their mothers
faced beatings for laughing out loud.
Today, the world is helping Afghan women return to the lives they
once knew. Women were once important contributors to Afghan society,
and they had the right to vote as early as the 1920s. Now, once again,
women are participating in their country's civic and political life.
More than two hundred women voted in the Loya Jirga that established
Afghanistan's current government. And next year, all Afghan women will
have the opportunity to vote in the presidential election.
As they've regained the right to vote, women are gaining the
confidence to take charge of their own destinies. Before the Taliban,
many women were professionals - they were teachers, doctors, and
lawyers. Today women are working again - and for the first time, some
are running their own businesses and becoming part of the global
economy. At the Maimana's Women's Association in Faryab Province, women
are sewing traditional embroidered cloth and carpets. At the Market
Garden in Herat, they are growing almond trees and vegetables and
selling their harvest. USAID has built Women's Resource Centers across
Afghanistan where women are receiving vital job and literacy training.
At the center in Logar Province, women are learning how to run a
poultry business starting with their own flock of thirty chickens. In
Gardez Province, sixty women are training to become tailors.
And women across Afghanistan are learning from and working with
some of America's most talented women. Teachers in Nebraska are
training Afghan teachers, who go home and train others. And you may not
know that the University of Nebraska at Omaha helped to edit and print
five million textbooks in the Afghan languages of Pashto and Dari. The
curriculum for the new textbooks was developed by Afghans. And through
video conferencing technology, women in Washington and New York are
discussing business ideas with women in Kabul. Pat Mitchell, president
of PBS, mentored two Afghan journalists this past summer at the Lehrer
News Hour. These women contributed to "Afghanistan Unveiled," an oral
history project - and they went home with new information and a renewed
appreciation for the freedom of speech.
As a former teacher and librarian, I'm proud that today, nearly
four million Afghan children are in school, many for the first time,
including more than one million girls. At the newly opened Sultana
Razia School, girls now talk about their future, about becoming doctors
and teachers, and about rebuilding their country. One young girl said,
"I want to become a lawyer, because I want to bring justice and freedom
to Afghanistan, especially for women." At a girls' school in Northern
Afghanistan, the principal, a man named Diwana Qol said, "These girls
are part of our future...We will need all of our children, boys and
girls, to be well educated if we are to rebuild our country from all
this war."
Children in Afghanistan are eager to learn. And yet one-and-a-half
million children cannot go to school because there are not enough
buildings and teachers. The number of school-age children has outpaced
the number of qualified teachers in many countries. And in Afghanistan,
where many teachers themselves only have a primary education,
additional training is critical to the success of the education
system.
I'm pleased to announce that, beginning next fall, the United
States will reestablish the American School in Kabul for Afghan
children and for children of international families. Prior to the
Taliban, the American School was an outstanding institute of culture
and education. Our new ambassador designee to Afghanistan, Zal
Khalizad, attended classes there as a young man. Because a large
percentage of the student body will be Afghan, the school will help
both international and Afghan children learn and work together in an
environment of respect. The school is a symbol of America's ongoing
commitment to Afghanistan and to the critical role of education in
rebuilding a society.
In tandem with this project, I'm working with our government and
the private sector to develop a teacher training institution that will
help Afghanistan meet its educational needs by training Afghan
teachers, especially women. Both of these projects - the American
school and the teacher training institute - are being organized through
the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council, inaugurated by Presidents Bush and
Karzai.
The people of Afghanistan are making great progress in rebuilding
their country and in advancing women's rights. And the women of
Afghanistan are inspiring the women of Iraq. They too lived under an
oppressive tyrant. Under Saddam, women who came under political
suspicion were tortured, or raped, or beheaded. Some of Saddam's
militiamen carried ID cards listing their official assignment as
"violation of women's honor." Iraqi men were allowed to kill female
relatives for supposed slights to the family name. One tragic legacy of
Saddam's rule is an overall adult illiteracy rate of 61 percent. And a
staggering 77 percent of women - three out of four - cannot read.
Today, I'm proud that this oppression has ended. Of course it will
take time for Iraq to recover from three decades of dictatorship, but
new hope is emerging and freedom is taking root. Already, Iraqi women
are participating in the political and economic reconstruction of their
country. Three women were chosen to serve on the Governing Council -
including a woman who is leading the Ministry of Public Works. A group
of Iraqi women are working with the U.S. State Department to develop
programs that empower women to help reconstruct Iraq. These women tell
chilling stories of their experiences under Saddam. But despite the
terrors they recount, they are determined to build a foundation for
democracy and women's rights.
Clearly, the women of Iraq bring knowledge and skills that will be
vital to restoring their country. Our substantial direct assistance to
Iraq includes significant resources to enhance the health and education
of Iraqi women and girls. USAID is rebuilding maternal clinics and
women's dormitories at Babylon University. We support the development
of women's self-help and vocational organizations throughout Iraq, from
Karbala to Kirkuk.
The presence of a peaceful, stable Iraq at the heart of the Middle
East will be a powerful beacon for freedom, an example of hope in that
vital region. A recent Gallup survey found that nearly two-thirds of
Iraqis say ousting Saddam Hussein was worth the hardship they've
experienced; an overwhelming majority feels that Iraq will be better
off in five years than it was before. Nowhere is this more obvious than
in education. Just last week, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children
went back to school. Our coalition forces are working with 36,000 local
Iraqi workers to refurbish 1,600 schools across Iraq. To rebuild that
many schools over a five month period is a great indication of our
determination.
Today, Iraqis are experiencing the freedom that education brings.
Students and teachers are free to discuss topics that were once
forbidden. They no longer fear the secret police are sitting in their
classrooms to monitor their studies. Next month, five million textbooks
free of Baathist propaganda will be given to Iraqi students. Today,
children and adults are discovering Iraq's best writers and poets in
books once banned. Professors, chosen through open staff elections, are
teaching lessons in freedom and human rights.
I'm encouraged that Iraqi women are organizing their own advocacy
groups. Our commitment to the women of Iraq is part of a broader effort
to support women across the Middle East - from girls' literacy programs
in Yemen, to micro-credit initiatives for women entrepreneurs in
Jordan, to legal workshops sponsored by your colleague Justice Sandra
Day O'Connor in Bahrain.
These examples of progress and freedom inspire us. And so do
compassionate Americans who are committed to helping their neighbor -
even when they're a world away. Soldiers who are helping to rebuild
schools in Iraq are calling in help from back home. Major Greg Softy of
a Cavalry Regiment in the 1st Armored Division sent an e-mail to
friends and family to request school supplies and other items for Iraqi
children. And a group of citizens in St. Paul, Minnesota, has sent
dozens of packages and set up a website to encourage others to
contribute.
When President Bush asked American children to donate one dollar to
a child in Afghanistan, they responded with an overwhelming eleven
million dollars - some of which happened to be in pennies, hard-earned
allowance and birthday money. This week, the Council of Women World
Leaders met at Georgetown University to discuss the advancement of
women's rights. And as we meet today, children here are communicating
with Muslim children through an email pen pal program.
A U.S. initiative called Friendship Through Education links school
in America with schools in countries in the Middle East. Students write
essays about their lives, religion, and culture. And they build
friendships and a dialogue on issues that face them as global
citizens. Sara, an elementary student from North Carolina said, "It's
exciting having a pen pal. He sent me a picture, and he looks different
because of his skin, but I didn't care because we are really all the
same. Maybe if we communicated with people from other countries they
would like us more and maybe we would like them more."
Through communication and dialogue we can advance democracy.
You're doing this today by inviting your fellow jurists from
Afghanistan and Iraq to share in this important conference. All of us
have an obligation to speak up and to speak out. We may come from
different backgrounds and faiths; but advancing human rights is the
responsibility of all humanity - a commitment shared by people of good
will on every continent. As we work to meet the challenges that women
face at home and abroad, our goal is simple: we seek women's full
participation in every dimension of life.
I am inspired by the words of Farahnaz Nazir, founder of the
Afghanistan Women's Association who said, "Society is like a bird. It
has two wings. And a bird cannot fly if one wing is broken." Our
dedication to advancing and protecting women's rights in all countries
must continue for a prosperous and stable world. Without women, the
goals of democracy and peace cannot be achieved. Thank you for your
leadership and your continued work for women everywhere.
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