U.S. SENATE PRAISES BRAVERY OF AFGHAN SCHOOLGIRLS
April 27, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate praised the outstanding courage of Afghan schoolgirls who suffered an attack by Taliban militants in Gondigan village in Kandahar in a resolution introduced by Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Senator Mike Crapo (R-Id.) and Sen. James Risch (R-Id.). The resolution, S. RES. 109, "recognizes and commends the extraordinary bravery shown by the girls and families of the Mirwais School for Girls."
Afghanistan's Ambassador to the U.S. Said T. Jawad welcomed a resolution and conveyed his deepest appreciation and gratitude the senators. "I want to convey my gratitude to the senators for their support in introducing this historic resolution," he said. "I am deeply grateful to Richard Lugar, Mike Crapo and James Risch for standing with the most courageous girls in the world, those who are struggling against momentous odds to fight for their rights to gain an education in the remote villages of Afghanistan. I am originally from the same village in Kandahar where these brave schoolgirls were attacked by the Taliban, and it is very personal to me. This story of bravery is symbolic of the determination of young Afghans."
"We have come a long way in improving the life of Afghan women and girls," said Ambassador Jawad. "However, Afghan women still need your continued partnership to end gender-based domestic and community violence, improve literacy rates and expand access to education and healthcare. There remains a great deal of work to be done toward achieving gender equality, full political participation and the social and economic empowerment of the brave Afghan women," stated the ambassador.
On November 12, 2008, 15 schoolgirls and teachers were sprayed with acid by Taliban extremists as they walked to the Mirwais School for Girls in the southern city of Kandahar. One student was scarred so badly that the Afghan government sent her to India for surgery and treatment. Nearly 1,300 girls, almost all of the school's students, defied direct threats by the terrorists and bravely returned to their school.
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