Bob Menendez: “I come to the floor today in support of Dr. Gupta's nomination as Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues. Around…”

“I come to the floor today in support of Dr. Gupta's nomination as Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues. Around the world today, women's rights and fundamental freedoms are under attack. In Ukraine, an untold number of women and girls are undergoing the brutal sexual violence accompanying Putin's war. In Iran, security forces have killed female protesters in the street. In Latin America, a wave of femicides has gone unanswered. In Saudi Arabia, women still need a man's approval to marry. In Afghanistan, the Taliban are erasing women from the public sphere, denying them the right to an education or the ability to work. In China, the government has sent ethnic minority Uighurs into concentration camps, forcing Uighur women onto birth control, forcing them to have abortions, and even forcing them to be sterilized. This has got to stop, and it is unacceptable. We cannot and must not stand idly by as such horrors continue. One way we can fight back is by making sure U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance prioritizes the protection of women and girls in all corners of the globe. Dr. Gupta is an excellent and well-qualified choice to lead such an effort. She would bring decades of experience working to empower women. She has fought to increase the economic security and political participation of women. She has pushed for an end of pervasive violence against women and girls.…”