Good morning. I'm Laura Bush, and I'm delivering this
week's radio address to kick off a world-wide effort to focus on the
brutality against women and children by the al-Qaida terrorist network
and the regime it supports in Afghanistan, the Taliban. That regime is
now in retreat across much of the country, and the people of
Afghanistan -- especially women -- are rejoicing. Afghan women know,
through hard experience, what the rest of the world is discovering:
The brutal oppression of women is a central goal of the terrorists.
Long before the current war began, the Taliban and its terrorist allies
were making the lives of children and women in Afghanistan miserable.
Seventy percent of the Afghan people are malnourished. One in every
four children won't live past the age of five because health care is
not available. Women have been denied access to doctors when they're
sick. Life under the Taliban is so hard and repressive, even small
displays of joy are outlawed -- children aren't allowed to fly kites;
their mothers face beatings for laughing out loud. Women cannot work
outside the home, or even leave their homes by themselves.
The severe repression and brutality against women in Afghanistan is
not a matter of legitimate religious practice. Muslims around the world
have condemned the brutal degradation of women and children by the
Taliban regime. The poverty, poor health, and illiteracy that the
terrorists and the Taliban have imposed on women in Afghanistan do not
conform with the treatment of women in most of the Islamic world, where
women make important contributions in their societies. Only the
terrorists and the Taliban forbid education to women. Only the
terrorists and the Taliban threaten to pull out women's fingernails for
wearing nail polish. The plight of women and children in Afghanistan is
a matter of deliberate human cruelty, carried out by those who seek to
intimidate and control.
Civilized people throughout the world are speaking out in horror --
not only because our hearts break for the women and children in
Afghanistan, but also because in Afghanistan we see the world the
terrorists would like to impose on the rest of us.
All of us have an obligation to speak out. We may come from
different backgrounds and faiths -- but parents the world over love our
children. We respect our mothers, our sisters and daughters. Fighting
brutality against women and children is not the expression of a
specific culture; it is the acceptance of our common humanity -- a
commitment shared by people of good will on every continent. Because
of our recent military gains in much of Afghanistan, women are no
longer imprisoned in their homes. They can listen to music and teach
their daughters without fear of punishment. Yet the terrorists who
helped rule that country now plot and plan in many countries. And they
must be stopped. The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the
rights and dignity of women.
In America, next week brings Thanksgiving. After the events of the
last few months, we'll be holding our families even closer. And we will
be especially thankful for all the blessings of American
life. I hope Americans will join our family in working to
insure that dignity and opportunity will be secured for all the women
and children of Afghanistan.
Have a wonderful holiday, and thank you for listening.