Collins Joins All Women Senators Urging President Biden to Protect Afghan Women and Girls

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined all 24 female Senators in a bipartisan letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In a letter to the President, Senator Collins and her colleagues wrote, “In the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, we write to urge your Administration to develop an interagency plan to preserve the political, economic, social, and basic human rights of Afghan women and girls.” 

 “Last year an estimated 3.5 million girls were in school, with 100,000 women enrolled in public and private universities. Women also began to succeed in business and government…However, lacking a legitimate Afghan government and military forces to protect them, women and girls are now suffering the predations of a Taliban regime with a track record of brutalizing, isolating, and denying them life and liberty,” the Senators continued. 

“You have committed to press the Taliban to uphold the rights of women and girls, and you have stated that America will maintain an enduring partnership with the people of Afghanistan resisting Taliban rule. We will advise, support, and enable those efforts through legislation and engagement with your Administration. Afghan women and girls need our action now,” the Senators concluded. 

In addition to Senator Collins, the letter was co-signed by Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Tina Smith (Minn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Click HERE to read the full letter.

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In September, Senator Collins urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to prioritize resources to meet the needs of women refugees who have been evacuated from Afghanistan. In June, Senator Collins and a bipartisan group of her colleagues sent a letter to President Biden urging him take action to ensure women’s rights and safety were protected in the midst of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

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