WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) joined all 24 women senators in a bipartisan letter to the Biden Administration calling for an interagency plan to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. In addition to Rosen and Cortez Masto, the letter was led by U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and signed by every sitting female U.S. Senator.
“In the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, we write to urge your Administration to develop an interagency plan to preserve the political, economic, social, and basic human rights of Afghan women and girls,” wrote the Senators.
“Last year an estimated 3.5 million girls were in school, with 100,000 women enrolled in public and private universities. Women also began to succeed in business and government… However, lacking a legitimate Afghan government and military forces to protect them, women and girls are now suffering the predations of a Taliban regime with a track record of brutalizing, isolating, and denying them life and liberty,” the Senators’ letter continued.
“You have committed to press the Taliban to uphold the rights of women and girls, and you have stated that America will maintain an enduring partnership with the people of Afghanistan resisting Taliban rule. We will advise, support, and enable those efforts through legislation and engagement with your Administration. Afghan women and girls need our action now.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
###
