Secretary Powell Hosts Third U.S.-Afghan Women's Council Meeting

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, and other prominent Americans will host their Afghan counterparts for the third meeting of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council in Washington D.C. on July 15-16.  This bi-national council of Americans and Afghans will review the status of U.S. assistance to Afghan women.  While rebuilding Afghanistan and Afghan society remains a work in progress, life is better now than it was a year ago for many Afghan women, children and refugees. 

President George W. Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the creation of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council in January 2002.  The Council was created to help ensure the women of Afghanistan gain the skills and education denied them under the Taliban and to stimulate private and public assistance for such activities.  The first meeting was held in Washington in April 2002.  Under Secretary Dobriansky, Council members, and other prominent Americans traveled to Kabul for the second meeting in January 2003.  This month's meeting will focus on political and economic programs to benefit Afghan women.

Overall U.S. humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan will be over $1 billion in FY02 and FY03 combined, apart from the cost of continuing military and related support operations.  These reconstruction efforts have improved the daily lives of thousands of Afghans.  Additional details on the U.S. Department of State's office of International Women's Issues and the Afghan Women's Council  are available at www.state.gov/g/wi.