Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sam Brownback (D-KS) held a press conference at the Capitol yesterday to urge the Bush Administration and the United Nations to ensure that the women of Afghanistan play a central role in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Senators Boxer and Brownback, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were joined by Senators Jean Carnahan (D-MO), Hillary Clinton, (D-NY), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in calling for the inclusion of women in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Senators Boxer and Brownback sent a letter to President Bush on Wednesday requesting that he work to ensure the involvement of Afghan women in the planning and reconstruction of a post-Taliban Afghanistan. The two senators also spoke with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday to discuss the need to include women women in a post-Taliban Afghanistan.
In her statement Senator Boxer said “The women of Afghanistan have taken off their veils and we can see their faces. Now we want to hear their voices as Afghanistan rebuilds its future. I hope that the Bush Administration hears our voices and works with us to ensure the rights of these women.”
