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31490808
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Statement used by First Lady Laura Bush to deliver a radio address about the treatment of women and children by the Taliban in Afghanistan
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31490808
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document
title
Statement used by First Lady Laura Bush to deliver a radio address about the treatment of women and children by the Taliban in Afghanistan
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Records of the Office of Speechwriting (George W. Bush Administration)
Anne Campbell's Files
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31490808
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17
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2001-11-17
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11
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2001
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nara-archive
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f53d3be37eccc3f1
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First Lady Radio Address
November 17, 2001
Draft #8
Good morning.
I'm First Lady Laura Bush, and I'm delivering this
week's radio address to kick off a world-wide effort to
focus on the brutality against women and children by the
al-Qaida terrorist network and the regime it supports in
Afghanistan, the Tablian. That regime is now in retreat
across much of the country, and the people of Afghanistan
- especially women - are rejoicing. Afghan women know,
through hard experience, what the rest of the world is
discovering: The brutal oppression of women is a central
goal of the terrorists.
1
Long before the current war began, the Taliban and
its terrorist allies were making the lives of children and
women in Afghanistan miserable. Seventy percent of the
Afghan people are malnourished. One in every four
children won't live past the age of five because health care
is not available. Women have been denied access to
doctors when they are sick.
Life under the Taliban is so hard and repressive, even
small displays of joy are outlawed - children aren't allowed
to fly kites; their mothers face beatings for laughing out
loud. Women cannot work outside the home, or even
leave their homes by themselves.
2
The severe repression and brutality against women in
Afghanistan is not a matter of legitimate religious practice.
Muslims around the world have condemned the brutal
degradation of women and children by the Taliban regime.
The poverty, poor health, and illiteracy that the terrorists
and the Taliban have imposed on women in Afghanistan
do not conform with the treatment of women in most of the
Islamic world, where women make important contributions
in their societies. Only the terrorists and the Taliban forbid
education to women. Only the terrorists and the Taliban
threaten to pull out women's fingernails for wearing nail
polish. The plight of women and children in Afghanistan is
a matter of deliberate human cruelty, carried out by those
who seek to intimidate and control.
Civilized people throughout the world are speaking
out in horror - not only because our hearts break for the
women and children of Afghanistan, but also because in
Afghanistan, we see the world the terrorists would like to
impose on the rest of us.
3
All of us have an obligation to speak out. We may
come from different backgrounds and faiths - but parents
the world over love our children. We respect our mothers
and sisters and daughters. Fighting brutality against
women and children is not the expression of a specific
culture; it is the acceptance of our common humanity - a
commitment shared by people of good will on every
continent.
In much of Afghanistan, women are no longer
imprisoned in their homes. They can listen to music and
teach their daughters without fear of punishment. Yet the
terrorists who helped rule that country now plot and plan in
many countries. And they must be stopped. The fight
against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of
women.
4
In America, next week brings Thanksgiving. After the
events of the last few months, we'll be holding our families
even closer. And we'll be thanking God, with even deeper
feeling, for all the blessings of American life. I hope
Americans will join with my family in praying that the
dignity and opportunity our citizens enjoy will be secured
for all the women and children of Afghanistan.
Have a wonderful holiday, and thank you for listening.
5