,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #afdb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #ac1      
#bjba,mrs4 ,feinstein introduced the    
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,foreign 
,relations  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the  
,secretary of ,state to submit a report 
on the status of women and girls in     
,afghanistan1 and for other purposes4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,protect ,women's and ,girls'   
,rights in ,afghanistan ,act of #bjba4  
#b4 ,afghan civil society defined ,in   
this ,act1 the term ,afghan civil       
society means the range of formal and   
informal organizations in ,afghanistan  
that reflect community interests and    
deliver some essential services4  #c4   
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,a large-scale withdrawal of      
,united ,states ,armed ,forces from     
,afghanistan will pose a risk to those  
who are the most vulnerable in          
,afghanistan1 especially women and      

girls4  7#b7 ,when the ,taliban governed
 ,afghanistan from #aiif to #bjja1 it   
barred women and girls from taking most 
jobs or going to school and practically 
made them prisoners in their own homes  
based on its extremist religious        
ideology4 ,further1 the ,taliban        
brutally imposed social restrictions on 
women1 such as mandatory burqa          
coverings1 and restricted their access  
to health care4 ,the ,taliban also      
prohibited women from appearing in      
public spaces without a male chaperone  
and imposed extremely violent           
punishments1 often publicly1 upon women 
for breaking its decrees4  7#c7 ,the    
women of ,afghanistan have achieved much
 since the fall of the ,taliban         
government1 even as insecurity1         
underdevelopment1 and patriarchal norms 
continue to limit their rights and      
opportunities in much of ,afghanistan4  
7#d7 ,through strong support from the   
,united ,states and the international   
community-- 7,a7 female enrollment in   

public schools in ,afghanistan has risen
 from zero in #bjja to more than        
#c1jjj1jjj in #bjaj2 and  7,b7 as of    
#bjai-- 7i7 millions of women in        
,afghanistan have voted1 and #be percent
 of parliamentarians in ,afghanistan are
 women2  7ii7 women held #ac seats as   
ministers and deputy ministers and #d   
women served as ambassadors2 and  7iii7 
beyond government1 women served as      
university instructors and professors1  
judges1 prosecutors1 defense attorneys1 
police and army personnel1 health       
professionals1 journalists1 and         
entrepreneurs4  7#e7 ,women's           
empowerment continues to serve ,united  
,states primary interests in            
,afghanistan because women are sources  
of both peace and economic progress in  
the country4  7#f7 ,if the ,united      
,states military withdraws and the      
,taliban regains influence1 the ,united 
,states will have little ability to     
preserve the rights of women and girls  
in ,afghanistan1 and there is fear that 

those women and girls will again be     
vulnerable to intimidation and          
marginalization4  #d4 ,sense of         
,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress 
that-- 7#a7 since #bjja1 ,afghan civil  
society has emerged as an important     
engine of social and political          
development2  7#b7 any future political 
order in ,afghanistan should not only   
secure the gains made in democratic1    
political1 human1 and women's rights1   
but also work to increase the ability of
 women to be treated equally throughout 
society because respecting rights is    
essential to securing a lasting peace   
and reflects the will of the ,afghan    
people2  7#c7 the ,united ,states must  
endeavor to preserve the hard-won gains 
of the past #b decades1 particularly as 
related to the role and protection of   
women and girls in civil society2 and   
7#d7 long-term stability in ,afghanistan
 can best be achieved and maintained by 
an inclusive ,afghan government that is 
responsive to the needs of all its      

diverse communities and respects the    
rights of all its citizens1 especially  
women4  #e4 ,policy of the ,united      
,states regarding the rights of women   
and girls of ,afghanistan ,it is the    
policy of the ,united ,states-- 7#a7 to 
continue to support the rights of women 
and girls in ,afghan civil society after
 the withdrawal of the ,armed ,forces of
 the ,united ,states from ,afghanistan2 
7#b7 to strongly oppose any return to   
political arrangements that would       
significantly weaken the rights of women
 in ,afghanistan2  7#c7 to refuse to    
provide economic aid to an ,afghan      
government 7whether including or        
controlled by the ,taliban7 if such     
government does not maintain minimal    
standards1 statutory or otherwise1 of   
women's rights1 such as by denying women
 access to health care and primary and  
secondary education1 prohibiting women  
from appearing outside of a household   
without a male relative1 or             
disqualifying women from jobs on the    

basis of gender2  7#d7 to instruct1 as  
appropriate1 representatives of the     
,united ,states ,government to use the  
voice1 aid1 and influence of the ,united
 ,states directly with the ,government  
of ,afghanistan and the ,taliban1 and at
 the ,united ,nations1 to preserve the  
civil and human rights of the women and 
girls of ,afghanistan2  7#e7 to continue
 providing the ,united ,states aid and  
assistance necessary to preserve the    
rights of women and girls in            
,afghanistan so that they may continue  
to pursue educational and professional  
opportunities and be equal members of   
,afghan civil society2 and  7#f7 to     
identify individuals who violate the    
basic rights of women in ,afghanistan1  
as those rights are defined by the      
,constitution of ,afghanistan or set by 
minimal international human right       
standards1 such as by committing murder1
 lynching1 and grievous domestic        
violence against women1 and to ensure   
those individuals are brought to        

justice1 prosecuted1 and imprisoned4    
#f4 ,report ,not later than #ahj days   
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 and every #ahj days thereafter    
through #bjbd1 the ,secretary of ,state 
shall submit to the ,committee on       
,foreign ,relations and the ,committee  
on ,appropriations of the ,senate and   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs and 
the ,committee on ,appropriations of the
 ,house of ,representatives a report    
that includes the following3 7#a7 ,an   
assessment of the conditions of women   
and girls in ,afghan civil society      
following the departure of ,united      
,states and ,north ,atlantic ,treaty    
,organization 7,,nato7 forces1 including
 the access of those women and girls to 
primary and secondary education1 jobs1  
health care1 and equal status in society
 as compared to men4  7#b7 ,an          
assessment of the status of any         
assurances made by the ,taliban related 
to preserving the rights of women and   
girls in ,afghanistan1 including the    

access of those women and girls to      
primary and secondary education1 jobs1  
health care1 and equal status in society
 as compared to men4