Protect Women's and Girls’ Rights in Afghanistan Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3850 To require the Secretary of State to submit a report on the status of women and girls in Afghanistan, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2021 Ms. SLOTKIN (for herself and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of State to submit a report on the status of women and girls in Afghanistan, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Women’s and 4 Girls’ Rights in Afghanistan Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. AFGHAN CIVIL SOCIETY DEFINED. 6 In this Act, the term ‘‘Afghan civil society’’ means 7 the range of formal and informal organizations in Afghan- 8 istan that reflect community interests and deliver some es- 9 sential services. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3850.IH H3850 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3850 IH SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) A large-scale withdrawal of United States 3 Armed Forces from Afghanistan will pose a risk to 4 those who are the most vulnerable in Afghanistan, 5 especially women and girls. 6 (2) When the Taliban governed Afghanistan 7 from 1996 to 2001, it barred women and girls from 8 taking most jobs or going to school and practically 9 made them prisoners in their own homes based on 10 its extremist religious ideology. Further, the Taliban 11 brutally imposed social restrictions on women, such 12 as mandatory burqa coverings, and restricted their 13 access to health care. The Taliban also prohibited 14 women from appearing in public spaces without a 15 male chaperone and imposed extremely violent pun- 16 ishments, often publicly, upon women for breaking 17 its decrees. 18 (3) The women of Afghanistan have achieved 19 much since the fall of the Taliban government, even 20 as insecurity, underdevelopment, and patriarchal 21 norms continue to limit their rights and opportuni- 22 ties in much of Afghanistan. 23 (4) Through strong support from the United 24 States and the international community— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3850.IH H3850 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3850 IH (A) female enrollment in public schools in 1 Afghanistan has risen from zero in 2001 to 2 more than 3,000,000 in 2010; and 3 (B) as of 2019— 4 (i) millions of women in Afghanistan 5 have voted, and 25 percent of parliamen- 6 tarians in Afghanistan are women; 7 (ii) women held 13 seats as ministers 8 and deputy ministers and 4 women served 9 as ambassadors; and 10 (iii) beyond government, women 11 served as university instructors and profes- 12 sors, judges, prosecutors, defense attor- 13 neys, police and army personnel, health 14 professionals, journalists, and entre- 15 preneurs. 16 (5) Women’s empowerment continues to serve 17 United States primary interests in Afghanistan be- 18 cause women are sources of both peace and eco- 19 nomic progress in the country. 20 (6) If the United States military withdraws and 21 the Taliban regains influence, the United States will 22 have little ability to preserve the rights of women 23 and girls in Afghanistan, and there is fear that 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3850.IH H3850 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3850 IH those women and girls will again be vulnerable to in- 1 timidation and marginalization. 2 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 3 It is the sense of Congress that— 4 (1) since 2001, Afghan civil society has 5 emerged as an important engine of social and polit- 6 ical development; 7 (2) any future political order in Afghanistan 8 should not only secure the gains made in democratic, 9 political, human, and women’s rights, but also work 10 to increase the ability of women to be treated equally 11 throughout society because respecting rights is es- 12 sential to securing a lasting peace and reflects the 13 will of the Afghan people; 14 (3) the United States must endeavor to pre- 15 serve the hard-won gains of the past 2 decades, par- 16 ticularly as related to the role and protection of 17 women and girls in civil society; and 18 (4) long-term stability in Afghanistan can best 19 be achieved and maintained by an inclusive Afghan 20 government that is responsive to the needs of all its 21 diverse communities and respects the rights of all its 22 citizens, especially women. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3850.IH H3850 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3850 IH SEC. 5. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES REGARDING THE 1 RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS OF AFGHANI- 2 STAN. 3 It is the policy of the United States— 4 (1) to continue to support the rights of women 5 and girls in Afghan civil society after the withdrawal 6 of the Armed Forces of the United States from Af- 7 ghanistan; 8 (2) to strongly oppose any return to political ar- 9 rangements that would significantly weaken the 10 rights of women in Afghanistan; 11 (3) to refuse to provide economic aid to an Af- 12 ghan government (whether including or controlled by 13 the Taliban) if such government does not maintain 14 minimal standards, statutory or otherwise, of wom- 15 en’s rights, such as by denying women access to 16 health care and primary and secondary education, 17 prohibiting women from appearing outside of a 18 household without a male relative, or disqualifying 19 women from jobs on the basis of gender; 20 (4) to instruct, as appropriate, representatives 21 of the United States Government to use the voice, 22 aid, and influence of the United States directly with 23 the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban, 24 and at the United Nations, to preserve the civil and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3850.IH H3850 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3850 IH human rights of the women and girls of Afghani- 1 stan; 2 (5) to continue providing the United States aid 3 and assistance necessary to preserve the rights of 4 women and girls in Afghanistan so that they may 5 continue to pursue educational and professional op- 6 portunities and be equal members of Afghan civil so- 7 ciety; and 8 (6) to identify individuals who violate the basic 9 rights of women in Afghanistan, as those rights are 10 defined by the Constitution of Afghanistan or set by 11 minimal international human right standards, such 12 as by committing murder, lynching, and grievous do- 13 mestic violence against women, and to ensure those 14 individuals are brought to justice, prosecuted, and 15 imprisoned. 16 SEC. 6. REPORT. 17 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 18 ment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter through 19 2024, the Secretary of State shall submit to the Com- 20 mittee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appro- 21 priations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Af- 22 fairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House 23 of Representatives a report that includes the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3850.IH H3850 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3850 IH (1) An assessment of the conditions of women 1 and girls in Afghan civil society following the depar- 2 ture of United States and North Atlantic Treaty Or- 3 ganization (NATO) forces, including the access of 4 those women and girls to primary and secondary 5 education, jobs, health care, and equal status in soci- 6 ety as compared to men. 7 (2) An assessment of the status of any assur- 8 ances made by the Taliban related to preserving the 9 rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, including 10 the access of those women and girls to primary and 11 secondary education, jobs, health care, and equal 12 status in society as compared to men. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:41 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3850.IH H3850 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with BILLS