Washington, D.C. – Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), with all the women of the Senate, today introduced legislation to help improve the lives of Iraqi women and children. The Iraqi Women’s and Children’s Liberation Act of 2004 would increase the availability of education, specialized health care, and political opportunities for the people of Iraq.

“As Iraqis assume responsibility for their own country, we must ensure that new freedoms reach all Iraqis,” said Senator Mikulski. “This means integrating women politically, and equally educating children in a safe day-to-day living environment for Iraqis. I’m proud to introduce this bi-partisan legislation, giving women the tools to empower themselves with political participation, and health care for themselves and their children.”

“The Iraqi people are enjoying unprecedented freedom and are on the path to establishing a democratic government. This is an especially welcome moment for Iraqi women,” said Senator Hutchison. “This bill will help secure the gains already made and ensure continued progress toward equal rights for women in the new Iraq.”

More specifically, this legislation would authorize federal funding for:

• Enhancement of political participation, economic empowerment, civil society, and personal security of women

The President is authorized to provide assistance for the enhancement of political participation, economic empowerment, civil society, and personal security of women in Iraq.

• Education and health care assistance for women and children

The President is authorized to provide education and health care assistance for the women and children living in Iraq and to women and children of Iraq who are refugees in other countries.

The legislation also requires the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress no later than six months after the date of the enactment of the law, and every six months after for three years. The report would include a comprehensive description and assessment of the conditions and status of women and children in Iraq. The report would also include expenditures of the U.S. Government to promote political participation, employment opportunities, civil society building, education, health and personal security of women in Iraq.

Before the Ba’athist regime, Iraq was one of the most progressive Middle Eastern countries in terms of women’s rights. In 1959, Iraq gave women the right to vote and equal protection under the law. Iraq was the first country in the Middle East to appoint a female minister.

Under the Ba’athist regime, women lost significant freedoms. In today’s Iraq, almost twice as many men as women are literate because of uneven schooling; the maternal mortality rate is 35 times higher than in the United States and one in eight children dies before the age of five because of inadequate health care; and there is not a single woman on the Constitutional drafting body that outlined interim Iraqi law. More than 4,000 women in Iraq have been victims of “honor killings,” a policy enacted by Saddam Hussein that allowed men to kill female relatives that “damaged the honor” of their family.

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