Milestone #4: Continued our commitment to the women of Afghanistan In 2001, when Mrs. Laura Bush delivered her historic radio address calling...
Milestone #4: Continued our commitment to the women of Afghanistan In 2001, when Mrs. Laura Bush delivered her historic radio address calling attention to the plight of women and children suffering under the Taliban, women in Afghanistan were banned from the workforce and prohibited from gaining an education. Today, women represent 26% of all Afghan civil servants, 24%of government-media workers, 21%of private-media workers, and 24% of all Community Development Council members. They also make up 28% of teachers at the primary and secondary level. Many Afghan women are now employed as university professors, doctors, lawyers, judges, and police officers. This progress has been hard-won, but there is more to be done. In March, we convened Afghan President Hamid Karzai, representatives from the United States and Afghan governments, business leaders, entrepreneurs and policymakers for a two-day summit that underscored President and Mrs. Bush’s belief that it is in the interest of the United States to empower women in Afghanistan for the sake of national security and for the sake of peace. Speaking via teleconference, President Hamid Karzai reaffirmed his commitment to promote women’s rights in Afghanistan. 
“There should be no doubt in our minds that there will not be any changes allowed by the Afghan people that would diminish or reduce the gains that Afghan women have made. We will work towards a brighter future for Afghan women, who have indeed suffered because of the Taliban,” he said. “They bore the brunt of the suffering in Afghanistan, and from peace they should have the maximum gain." The conference, which focused on promoting and advancing Afghan women’s economic opportunity, was moderated by Greta Van Susteren, who also covered the event for her nightly show on Fox News. During an interview with Greta, Mrs. Bush said “Today, we know that economies can't succeed unless all the people can be involved. In countries where half the population, where the women are left out of the economy and can't work, we see countries that are failing and economies that are failing.” Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.comAfghanistan must make the critical decision to include and protect the rights of all its citizens, both men and women, or risk the inevitable return to instability and failure by oppressing and excluding women from fully contributing to society. As President Bush said during the conference: “One of the questions we’ve got to ask ourselves as Americans is, “Does it matter? Does it matter if that society returns to brutality?” We at the Bush Center not only believe freedom is universal; we believe every life has dignity. Every person is important, whether it be an American woman or a woman in Afghanistan. So to this end we’re going to do our very best to be enablers and mentors and to encourage and support the women of Afghanistan.”
