For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 12, 2001
President Signs Afghan Women and Children Relief Act
Remarks by the President at Signing Ceremony For Afghan Women and
Children Relief Act of 2001
The National Women's Museum in the Arts
Washington, D.C.
11:35 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. For several
years, the people of Afghanistan have suffered under one of the most
brutal regimes -- brutal regimes -- in modern history; a regime allied
with terrorists and a regime at war with women. Thanks to
our military and our allies and the brave fighters of Afghanistan, the
Taliban regime is coming to an end. (Applause.)
Yet, our responsibilities to the people of Afghanistan have not
ended. We work for a new era of human rights and human
dignity in that country. The agreement reached in Bonn last
week means that in 10 days, the international community will have a new
partner, an interim government of a new
Afghanistan. (Applause.)
We join those in the interim government who seek education and
better health for every Afghan woman and child. And today,
with the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act, we take an important
step toward that goal.
I want to thank Laura for her introduction, and I want to thank her
for her steadiness during this
crisis. (Applause.) I want to thank Farida for
her courage. (Applause.) I want to thank the
members of the House and the Senate who sponsored this piece of
legislation, and all the members of Congress who are here
today. (Applause.)
I want to thank Sima Wali, who is the President and CEO of Refugee
Women in Development, a key advocate for women's rights at the
Conference of Bonn negotiations last week. (Applause.)
I thank the members of my Cabinet who are here, Secretary Veneman
and Administrator Whitman -- thank you all for being here. I
want to thank the ambassadors who are here representing the diplomatic
corps. Thank you all for coming. And I also want
to thank Billie Holladay, for opening up this beautiful museum for all
of us to come and celebrate this important piece of
legislation. (Applause.)
America is beginning to realize that the dreams of the terrorists
and the Taliban were a waking nightmare for Afghan women and their
children. The Taliban murdered teenagers for laughing in the
presence of soldiers. They jailed children as young as 10
years old, and tortured them for supposed crimes of their parents.
Afghan women were banned from speaking, or laughing
loudly. They were banned from riding bicycles, or attending
school. They were denied basic health care, and were killed
on suspicion of adultery. One news magazine reports, "It's
hard to find a woman in Kabul who does not remember a beating at the
hands of the Taliban."
In Afghanistan, America not only fights for our security, but we
fight for values we hold dear. We strongly reject the
Taliban way. We strongly reject their brutality toward women
and children. (Applause.) They not only violate
basic human rights, they are barbaric in their indefensible meting of
justice. It is wrong. Their attitude is wrong for
any culture. Their attitude is wrong for any religion.
You know, life in Afghanistan wasn't always this
way. Before the Taliban came, women played an incredibly
important part of that society. Seventy percent of the
nation's teachers were women. Half of the government workers
in Afghanistan were women, and 40 percent of the doctors in the capital
of Kabul were women.
The Taliban destroyed that progress. And in the process,
they offered us a clear image of the world they and the terrorists
would like to impose on the rest of us.
The central goal of the terrorists is the brutal oppression of
women -- and not only the women of Afghanistan. The
terrorists who help rule Afghanistan are found in dozens and dozens of
countries around the world. And that is the reason this
great nation, with our friends and allies, will not rest until we bring
them all to justice. (Applause.)
America -- America is so proud of our military and our allies,
because like the rest of us here, we've seen the pictures of joy when
we liberated city after city in Afghanistan. And none of us
will ever forget the laughter and the music and the cheering and the
clapping at a stadium that was once used for public execution.
Children now fly kites and they play games. Women now
come out of their homes from house arrest, able to walk the streets
without chaperons. "It feels like we've all been released
from prison," said one young person in Kabul, "that the whole of
Afghanistan has been released from prison."
This is an important achievement. Yet, a liberated
Afghanistan must now be rebuilt so that it will never again practice
terror at home or abroad. This work begins by ensuring the
essential rights of all Afghans.
This week is Human Rights Week, when we celebrate the adoption of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights more than a century ago -- a
half-century ago. The preamble to that document declares
that the people of the world reaffirm their "faith in fundamental human
rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, and in equal
rights of men and women."
This is a great goal, and that's why I'm so pleased that
Afghanistan's new government will respect the rights of all people,
women and men. (Applause.)
America and our allies will do our part in the rebuilding of
Afghanistan. We learned our lessons from the
past. We will not leave until the mission is
complete. (Applause.) We will work with
international institutions on long-term development -- on the long-term
development of Afghanistan. We will provide immediate
humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
After years of civil war and misrule by the Taliban, this is going
to be an incredibly difficult winter in Afghanistan. We're
doing what we can to help alleviate the suffering. In the
month of November, the United Nations World Food Program, with our
strong support, provided enough supplies to feed 4.3 million
Afghans. And the Defense Department will continue to make
sure that food is delivered in remote regions of that impoverished,
poor, starving country.
The bill I sign today extends and strengthens our
efforts. The Afghan Women and Children Relief Act commits
the United States to providing education and medical assistance to
Afghan women and children, and to Afghan refugees in surrounding
countries.
The overwhelming support for this legislation sends a clear
message: As we drive out the Taliban and the terrorists, we are
determined to lift up the people of Afghanistan. The women
and children of Afghanistan have suffered enough. This great
nation will work hard to bring them hope and help.
To the bill's sponsors, thank you from the bottom of our
hearts. You show the true compassion of this great
land. May God bless the women and children of
Afghanistan. (Applause.)
END 11:45
A.M. EST
|