On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Shaheen, D-NH, wearing red, spoke on the Senate floor to mark International Women’s Day.
Earlier, Shaheen announced a bipartisan resolution recognizing March 8, 2017, as International Women’s Day. Below are some excerpts from her remarks (video link):
“On this International Women’s Day, we celebrate women’s achievements, and we rededicate ourselves to achieving an equal voice, equal participation, and equal rights for all women. By all means… we still have much difficult work ahead of us.”
“For decades, the United States has been a world leader in advancing and protecting the rights of women and girls around the world – including their access to contraception and family planning… however, we must frankly acknowledge actions by the Trump administration and Republican leaders in Congress to abdicate America’s leadership role in advancing women’s rights.”
“In January, millions of women, men and children turned out for marches in Washington, New York, London, Nairobi, Tokyo and dozens of other cities… And the world heard our message loudly and clearly: We will not allow our reproductive rights and other human rights to be taken away. We will not allow women to be targeted for discrimination. We will not be taken backward.”
“That was our message in January – and it is our message on this International Women’s Day. We have fought long and hard for equal rights and equal treatment here in the United States. On this day of celebration and solidarity, we are determined to go forward and build on the progress of recent decades. We rededicate ourselves to achieving respect, equality, and justice for women in every community and every country across the globe.”
Most recently, following President Trump’s reinstatement and drastic expansion of the Mexico City Policy, Shaheen introduced the bipartisan Global HER Act, which would permanently repeal the policy. She is the lead sponsor of the International Violence Against Women Act, the Women, Peace, and Security Act, and the EMPOWER Act.