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Remarks Prepared for Delivery by
Secretary of Labor
Elaine L. Chao
At the Screening of “Osama,”
The First Feature
Film Made in Post-Taliban Afghanistan
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, February
12, 2004
I am delighted to be here tonight with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson,
Senator Hillary Clinton, Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky, the Afghan
Ambassador to the United States Said Tayeb Jawad, and all of you for
tonight’s event.
The presence of so many women leaders is a testament to how far we have
come since the Taliban’s cruel treatment of women created a worldwide
outcry.
Thanks to President Bush’s leadership, that regime is gone and
Afghan women and girls can go to school, go to work and build better lives for
themselves and their families.
The project Senator Clinton mentioned is part of $6 million in grants
that the Labor Department has given to help women and children in Afghanistan.
The Department was pleased to assist First Lady Laura Bush in this efforts and
her efforts to help the Afghan war widows. Vital Voices also played a crucial
role in implementing that project.
This film tonight also has special poignancy for me because I have just
returned from Iraq, where I visited the Women’s Rights and Democracy
Center in Hilla. It is one of 17 Centers this Administration is setting up
throughout Iraq to help Iraqi women achieve greater self-sufficiency and
independence by providing classes in health, business skills and democracy
education.
It was so inspiring to meet these courageous women! Hilla is a town on
the edge of Babylon. 60% of the population is comprised of women because Saddam
Hussein killed many of the men over 40. These women are hungry for democracy
and they want to participate fully in all aspects of their government and their
country.
I am honored to add my voice to theirs. Tonight, we remember not only
the women of Hilla but the women of all of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle
East and their passionate aspirations for full participation in their
countries.
The President and First Lady recommended this film to the Cabinet, and I
am looking forward to joining you in watching it.
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