Susan Davis: “Five years ago, I led a congressional delegation of female Members to Afghanistan on Mother's Day to visit our troops…”

“Five years ago, I led a congressional delegation of female Members to Afghanistan on Mother's Day to visit our troops and meet with Afghan women, and I've continued to participate in this trip every year since. On that first trip, we flew to Qalat in the southwestern region of Afghanistan and met the Provincial Reconstruction Team and the women of the village they worked with. Like much of Afghanistan, Qalat is rural and impoverished. The women we met had the same aspirations of women across the globe: they seek to send their children to school and a learn a trade in order to support themselves and their family. During that first visit in 2008, the school headmaster told us stories of how acid was thrown into the faces of several female students who attended the school. These young girls overcame enormous challenges in coming to school every day, but their desire to learn surmounted the obstacles they faced. And there, just like at home, we heard these young girls talk of being doctors and teachers and anything else that they could dream of. Each year, we have continued to visit the women of Qalat, and their message remains clear and consistent: they need security for themselves and their families if they are going to succeed. During these visits, we have seen slow but steady progress being made as security in the area has improved.…”