Access for Afghan Women Act

The Access for Afghan Women Act of 2003 is a bill introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (Democrat, New York) and Dana Rohrabacher (Republican, California). The bill was submitted on March 27, 2003 to the House of Representatives and was immediately referred to the House Committee on International Relations.

The bill was introduced due to concerns that women remained marginalized in the re-development of Afghanistan and that the circumstances of women in Afghanistan remained precarious despite the overthrow of the Taliban regime during the United States led Afghanistan campaign that began in October 2001. (U.S. invasion of Afghanistan) The bill addresses assistance for Afghan women and girls in the areas of political and human rights, health care, education, training, security, and shelter.

The bill seeks to secure improved circumstances and promote opportunities for women by incorporating them within the reconstruction and on-going development efforts being undertaken in Afghanistan.

The bill attempts to secure these by appropriating funding, establishing aid allocation requirements, defining objectives of United States international policy in Afghanistan, and setting standards of behavior for the United States in executing policy.

The text of the bill, its status, and further information can be found at the following site:

Thomas Legislative Information