Nita Lowey: “I rise today to Commemorate International Women's Day. Today we celebrate the victories and commemorate the struggles of…”

“I rise today to Commemorate International Women's Day. Today we celebrate the victories and commemorate the struggles of women around the globe. While women have made considerable progress in the struggle for civil rights and equity, we still have a long way to go. Women have gained greater access to education. But currently, throughout the world there are about 85 million fewer girls enrolled in school than there are boys, despite nearly equal numbers of girls and boys in the world. We must do better. Women have gained greater access to jobs and the economy, but currently, women compromise nearly two-thirds of the world's illiterate population. We must do better. Women have fought, in this country and around the world, to gain access to adequate health care and full reproductive rights. But an estimated 500,000 women die each year from pregnancy related causes, including unsafe abortions. And in this country, the debate over abortion rights, and recent actions to eliminate that right in the case of victims of rape and incest, threatens to undermine the health and safety of women. We must do better. Mr. Speaker, the upcoming U.N. Fourth International Conference on Women will provide us an opportunity to look at how we might do better. I join my colleagues in commemorating today, International Women's Day. It is a day to look toward the future, when we must do better for women.”