SCHAKOWSKY INTRODUCES RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY, MARCH 8, 2001
SCHAKOWSKY INTRODUCES RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, MARCH 8, 2001
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In honor of International Women's Day, March 8, 2001, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today introduced a Resolution calling on the U.S. House of Representatives' to support the goals of this worldwide celebration. Twenty-three members of the House, including the ranking member of the International Relations Committee, cosponsored the Resolution.
"International Women's Day began as a movement for voting rights and labor rights. It is now seen as a day for asserting women's political, economic, and social rights, for reviewing the progress that women have made, as a day for celebration, and as a day for demonstration," Schakowsky said.
"Through this resolution and other measures, I will continue to work with my colleagues to advance the status of women here at home and across the globe," Schakowsky added.
The Resolution calls on Congress to recognize and honor "the women in the United States and in other countries who have fought and continue to struggle for gender equality and women's rights." Furthermore, it reaffirms the House's "commitment to ending discrimination and violence against women, to ensuring the safety and welfare of women, and to pursuing policies that guarantee the basic rights of women both in the United States and in other countries." Finally, it encourages the President to pursue policies to protect the health and rights of women and issue a "proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe International Women's Day with appropriate programs and activities."
"While women have gained so much in the last century, there are still millions who are trafficked, beaten and sexually abused, or denied economic and social equality. We will continue to pursue policies of change until we achieve fairness and gender equality for all women," Schakowsky concluded, author of the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act, which was included in last year's Violence Against Women Act.