Working for Women Worldwide - Embassy of the United States

Championing Women’s
Political Empowerment
First Lady Laura Bush, second from
right, and then National Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice, right, meet
with the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council
on July 16, 2003, in the White House.
U.S. efforts to increase women’s political
participation have spurred dramatic
progress in countries all over the world.
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From Afghanistan, where millions of women voted for
the first time ever in historic presidential elections,
to Rwanda, where the elected parliament now has a
higher percentage of women than in any other country,
women are gaining a greater role in political decisionmaking.
The United States has led the way in advancing
women’s political empowerment worldwide through a
wide range of programs and initiatives, including a
landmark resolution on “Women and Political Participation”
which it introduced at the United Nations.
The resolution, which aims to promote and protect the
rights of women to participate in political processes,
was adopted by the full U.N. General Assembly with
110 cosponsoring nations in December 2003. (See
www.state.gov/g/wi/rls/rep/28497.htm.)
The origin of the resolution is found in the aspirations
of women, explained Ambassador Ellen
Sauerbrey, the U.S. representative to the U.N.
Commission on the Status of Women. When
Sauerbrey spoke with women around the world,
invariably they said: “We can’t solve our problems
unless we have a voice and are active in the political
system. But we don’t know how to run for office, we
don’t know how to raise money, we don’t know how to
change our system to gain more opportunities.” It was
a perfect issue for the United States to champion at the
Commission on the Status of Women.
“The United States is very committed to equality
for all,” Sauerbrey stressed. “The participation of
women strengthens democracy. You cannot have a true
democracy unless all members can take part in decision-making
and government policy.”
Like earlier documents, dating back to the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 2003
U.N. General Assembly resolution is rooted in the
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