March 07, 2005
(Washington, DC) – Representative Barbara Lee offered the following statement on the eve of International Women’s Day:
“As we reflect on International Women’s Day and women’s global struggle for equality and human rights, it is important to note that many of the greatest obstacles to the realization of these goals are the policies of the Bush administration.
“Ten year’s after the landmark UN conference in Beijing resulted in a platform seeking to establish global equality for women, the Bush administration is turning back the clock on women’s rights.
“Women must be able to make basic decisions about their own reproductive health, and to do this they need access to information and resources for family planning. The Bush administration has made a point of denying access to this critical information and resources. Ideological policies like the global gag rule and ending funding for the United Nations Population Fund represent an effort to appease the radical right wing at the expense of women everywhere.
“I believe that our policies on family planning should be based on science and our commitment to women’s rights and human rights, which is why I have twice introduced amendments to repeal the global gag rule and am committed to leading the fight to end this backward policy. I will continue to fight for funding for the United Nations Population Fund because I believe that giving women information and access to family planning resources empowers them to make decisions about their health, their bodies, decisions that have a significant impact on their economic status.
“I have long been committed to the fight to end global HIV/AIDS, and the sobering reality is that women are the new face of this epidemic. It is time for us to confront the social, political, cultural, economic and legal inequalities that make women more susceptible to HIV/AIDS. That is why I will reintroduce legislation to create specific HIV prevention strategies for women in each of the countries receiving assistance to combat HIV/AIDS. This approach would include increasing access to female condoms; reducing the incidence of child marriage; reducing violence against women; supporting the development of micro-enterprise; expanding educational opportunities for women and girls; protecting property and inheritance rights; coordinating HIV prevention services with existing health care services; and promoting gender equality. My bill would also remove requirements from last year’s Global AIDS bill that required 33% of prevention funding to go towards undefined “abstinence-until-marriage” programs.”
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Rep. Barbara Lee Statement on International Women’s Day
Calls for Recommitment to Women’s Rights, Blasts Bush Policies
(Washington, DC) – Representative Barbara Lee offered the following statement on the eve of International Women’s Day:
“As we reflect on International Women’s Day and women’s global struggle for equality and human rights, it is important to note that many of the greatest obstacles to the realization of these goals are the policies of the Bush administration.
“Ten year’s after the landmark UN conference in Beijing resulted in a platform seeking to establish global equality for women, the Bush administration is turning back the clock on women’s rights.
“Women must be able to make basic decisions about their own reproductive health, and to do this they need access to information and resources for family planning. The Bush administration has made a point of denying access to this critical information and resources. Ideological policies like the global gag rule and ending funding for the United Nations Population Fund represent an effort to appease the radical right wing at the expense of women everywhere.
“I believe that our policies on family planning should be based on science and our commitment to women’s rights and human rights, which is why I have twice introduced amendments to repeal the global gag rule and am committed to leading the fight to end this backward policy. I will continue to fight for funding for the United Nations Population Fund because I believe that giving women information and access to family planning resources empowers them to make decisions about their health, their bodies, decisions that have a significant impact on their economic status.
“I have long been committed to the fight to end global HIV/AIDS, and the sobering reality is that women are the new face of this epidemic. It is time for us to confront the social, political, cultural, economic and legal inequalities that make women more susceptible to HIV/AIDS. That is why I will reintroduce legislation to create specific HIV prevention strategies for women in each of the countries receiving assistance to combat HIV/AIDS. This approach would include increasing access to female condoms; reducing the incidence of child marriage; reducing violence against women; supporting the development of micro-enterprise; expanding educational opportunities for women and girls; protecting property and inheritance rights; coordinating HIV prevention services with existing health care services; and promoting gender equality. My bill would also remove requirements from last year’s Global AIDS bill that required 33% of prevention funding to go towards undefined “abstinence-until-marriage” programs.”
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