Victory: The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act is now law & Women's Rights are Non-Negotiable in Afghanistan 19JAN13

HERE is a victory for human rights and the women and girls of Afghanistan, and a call to action to keep up the pressure on the Afghan and American governments to guarantee the human rights, the safety and well being of Afghan women and girls in negotiations with the taliban. Thanks to all who have participated in the earlier actions by Amnesty International, click the link to participate in this latest action...

	Victory: The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act is now law
	Thanks to you, our ongoing campaign to secure the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan is marking a huge victory. You may recall that the campaign kicked off last May in Chicago when Amnesty International USA organized a Shadow Summit as a counterpoint to the NATO summit, which was failing to provide Afghan women a place at the table to discuss the future of their country. It was here that we first asked members and activists like you to sign a petition in support of the United States adopting an action plan to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls. We received an overwhelming response. This was followed by a Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on Afghan women's rights, in cooperation with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and featuring two dynamic women from the Afghan Women's Network, Hasina Safi and Mahbouba Seraj. Securing Afghan women's rights was also a pressing topic of discussion that same day at ourTown Hall on Women's Rights, the XX Factor. Thanks in large part to the hard work and courage of the Afghan women – supported by thousands of Amnesty International USA members like you, guests at the Congressional briefing, and participants in the XX Factor—Senators Casey and Hutchison introduced the Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act in the Senate in November.  The amended bill was included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which was recently signed by the President. It is now U.S. law! The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act requires the Department of Defense to report on their efforts to promote the security of Afghan women and girls during the transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces. The support that this amendment received in Congress was tremendous. During the final days of the debate, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA) filed a motion to specifically instruct House conferees to include the Afghan women's bill in the reconciled version of the NDAA. The motion passed by an overwhelming vote of 399-4. Nine Members of Congress spoke on the House floor in favor of the amendment including the Republican Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon. Reps. Tsongas, Jackson-Lee, Lee, Kucinich, Schakowsky, Rob Andrews, Biggert, and Hanabusa also spoke in support of the motion. Your voice made this possible. Thank you. We are thrilled with this victory, but there is still work to be done. We must continue to push the U.S. government to take concrete steps to support the rights of the women of Afghanistan and to ensure that their rights are not traded away during or after the reconciliation talks with the Taleban and Afghan government. Please continue to stand in solidarity with the women and girls of Afghanistan and take action in the fight for their rights.  Again, thank you for raising your voice. We hope you will continue to act to support and help advance women’s rights worldwide. Warmly, Cristina M. Finch Director, Women's Human Rights Program Amnesty International USA
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