Condemning the Taliban's systematic erasure of women and girls from public life in Afghanistan, and calling for United States leadership in response.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H. Res. 1657 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1657

Condemning the Taliban's systematic erasure of women and girls from public life in Afghanistan, and calling for United States leadership in response.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 11, 2026

Ms. Boebert (for herself and Ms. Stevens) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

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RESOLUTION

Condemning the Taliban's systematic erasure of women and girls from public life in Afghanistan, and calling for United States leadership in response.

Whereas since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban have issued edicts that bar Afghan girls from secondary school and women from universities; Whereas the Taliban have barred women from most forms of employment, restricted their freedom of movement without a male guardian, and closed spaces where women gather; Whereas in August 2024, the Taliban formalized rules that prohibit women's voices and faces in public, extending a pattern of erasing women from civic life; Whereas Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans girls and women from secondary and higher education; Whereas the International Criminal Court has sought and issued arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders for the crime against humanity of gender persecution; Whereas the erasure of Afghan women and girls harms Afghan families, the economy, and public health, and undermines regional stability and United States national security interests; Whereas Afghan women have continued to teach, learn, and organize in secret at great personal risk; and Whereas the protection of women's and girls' rights has long drawn support from Members of both parties: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) condemns in the strongest terms the Taliban's systematic and institutionalized repression of Afghan women and girls; (2) affirms that no government that denies half its population education, work, and a public voice can claim legitimacy; (3) honors the courage of Afghan women and girls who continue to learn, teach, and speak out; (4) calls on the President to make the restoration of women's and girls' education and freedom of movement a standing priority in all diplomatic engagement concerning Afghanistan; (5) urges the use of targeted sanctions and other tools against Taliban officials responsible for these abuses; (6) supports humanitarian aid and underground and remote education programs that reach Afghan women and girls without benefiting the Taliban; and (7) urges allies and international bodies to coordinate pressure and to support accountability for gender persecution. <all>