For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 16, 2002
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
Cabinet Room
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. In one week,
boys and girls in Afghanistan will start a new school
year. For many girls, this will be the first time in their
young lives that they will have set foot in a
classroom. Under the Taliban regime, educating women was a
criminal act. Under the new government of a liberated Afghanistan,
educating all children is a national priority. And America,
along with its coalition partners, is actively helping in that effort.
When Afghan children begin their classes they will find that the
United States has already sent more than 4 million textbooks to their
country. The textbooks are written in the Afghan languages
of Pashto and Dari. And before the end of the year we'll
have sent almost 10 million of them to the children of Afghanistan.
These textbooks will teach tolerance and respect for human dignity,
instead of indoctrinating students with fanaticism and
bigotry. And they will be accompanied by blackboards,
teacher's kits and other school supplies.
America's children have been extremely generous in helping the
children of Afghanistan. Through America's Fund for Afghan
Children, they have raised more than $4.5 million, much of which is
used for school supplies like notebooks and pencils, paper and crayons,
soccer balls and jump ropes. The United States will also be
funding 20 teams of teacher trainers to conduct training sessions with
thousands of Afghan educators.
In helping the Afghan people rebuild their country we have placed a
central focus on education, and for a good reason. Education
is the pathway to progress, particularly for women. Educated
women tend to be healthier than those who are not
well-educated. And the same is true of their
families. Babies born to educated women are more likely to
be immunized, better nourished, and survive their first year of life.
Educated women encourage their children to be educated, as
well. And nations whose women are educated are more
competitive, more prosperous and more advanced than nations where the
education of women is forbidden or ignored.
We still have a lot of work to do in Afghanistan. The
brave men and women of the American military continue to fight al Qaeda
forces that are trying to regroup and would like nothing more than to
strike America again. And even as we fight terror, American compassion
is providing an alternative to bitterness, resentment and hatred.
The United States has helped Afghanistan avert mass
starvation. We're repairing its roads and
bridges. We're rebuilding its health clinics and
schools. And in one week, with textbooks in hand, the young
girls of Afghanistan will begin school. This will be a
remarkable moment in the history of Afghanistan, and a proud moment for
the people of America.
Thank you for listening.
END
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