For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 8, 2002
Mrs. Bush Discusses Status of Afghan Women at U.N.
Remarks by Mrs. Laura Bush
U.N. Commission on the Status of Women
International Womens Day
As prepared.
Thank you, Mister Moderator. Queen Noor; Secretary (General) and
Mrs. Annan; Ambassador Kolby, Ms. (Angela) King; distinguished guests.
Im so glad to be here at the United Nations on this International
Womens Day a day that has been marked with pride and promise since
1975 International Womens Year.
I am here to voice my strong support for the courageous people of
Afghanistan women and men who have suffered for years under the Taliban
regime. I applaud the international community for its concern for women
and families in Afghanistan around the world. And I applaud Chairman
Karzai for his leadership during this important time.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 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 a country where women were denied their rights and
their place in society.
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. Many women were
professions they were teachers, doctors, and lawyers. And today many
will be returning to those professions.
This is a time of rebuilding of unprecedented opportunity thanks
to efforts led by the United Nations, the United States, the new Afghan
government, and our allies around the world. With opportunity comes an
obligation. Much work remains to be done.
The United States current efforts reflect a long-standing
commitment. The United States is the largest and one of the longest
continuous supporters of UN humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan, and we
will continue to be.
We have committed at least $1.5 million to help Afghan women
work and support their families, some for the first time in
years. Many women are now heads of households, having lost
their husbands during the 23 years of war. In Kabul and
Mazar-E-Sharif, the U.S. is sending wheat to 21 bakeries run by
widows who earn a living and feed their own families. These
bakeries help feed one-quarter of Kabuls population, and more
will be built.
Women, children and widows who were forced to flee to refugee
camps are now returning home to Afghanistan. Today, the United
States has helped some 150,000 people return, and we have
pledged about $50.2 million dollars in support for
community-based health, education, shelter, water and
sanitation projects.
American boys and girls are contributing a dollar each through
Americans Fund For Afghan Children. So far American children
have sent more than $4 million dollars for food, shelter,
clothing, healthcare and toys for Afghan children.
A major focus is on education. Recently I met with Chairman Karzai,
and I presented him with a childrens dictionary which symbolized the
importance the United States places on education. Prosperity cannot
follow peace without educated women and children. When people are
educated, all the indexes of a society improve. For example:
Improvements in womens education have contributed the most by
far to the total decline in child malnutrition; And mothers
with a secondary education have children with mortality rates
nearly 36 percent lower than mothers with only a primary school
education.
In two weeks, Afghan boys and girls start school -- many for the
first time. The world will be watching on the first day of school, as
teachers take their long-vacant places and students open their books
for their first lessons.
Through a number of projects, the United States is committed to
helping the Afghan people redevelop their educational system. The U.S.
Agency for International Development is sending almost 10 million
Pashto and Dari language textbooks to Afghan schools.
When school starts, the primary grades will have language and math
books. More books will follow for secondary education covering all
subjects. We are funding teams of teacher trainers and helping
educators develop curricula. And the U.S. helped refurbish the womens
dormitory at the University of Kabul so women can remain on campus, in
a safe environment.
For primary schools, the Academy for Educational Development just
sent 40,000 backpacks filled with slates, chalk, school supplies, and
toys for refugee children. This is the backpack hand-made in
Pakistan.
Children who receive these backpacks may have never owned or even
seen books and toys. This great effort deserves our support.
When you give children books and an education, you give them the
ability to imagine a future of opportunity, equality and justice.
Education is the single most important long-term investment we can make
in the future.
At a girls school in Northern Afghanistan, the principal, a man
named Diwana Qol said, These girls are part of our futureWe will need
all of our children, boys and girls, to be well educated if we are to
rebuild our country from all this war.
Today, on International Womens Day, we affirm our mission to
protect human rights for women in Afghanistan and around the
world. And we affirm our support of all Afghans as they
recover from war and injustice.
Farahnaz Nazir, founder of the Afghanistan Womens Association said,
Society is like a bird. It has two wings. And a bird cannot fly if one
wing is broken.
Our dedication to respecting and protecting womens rights in all
countries must continue if we are to achieve a peaceful, prosperous,
and stable world.
In his State of the Union address to the United States Congress,
President Bush said:
All fathers and mothers, in all societies, want their children to
be educated, and live free from poverty and violence No nation owns
these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them.
Human dignity, private property, free speech, equal justice,
education, and health care these rights must be guaranteed throughout
the world. Together, the United Sates, the United Nations
and our allies will prove that the forces of terror cant stop the
momentum of freedom. Thank you.