Biggert puts spotlight on treatment of Afghani women

After three days in Afghanistan as part of an all-female congressional delegation visiting the war zone, U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert said she remains concerned about the treatment of Afghani women.

Biggert, a Hinsdale Republican, was the lone GOP member among the six women congressmen who returned Wednesday. Her district covers much of the southern half of DuPage County.

She and the five other congresswomen are drafting a resolution urging Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai to rescind a "marital rape" law that was approved, but not yet enacted. Karzai said he was unaware of the provision that allows men to rape their wives when he signed legislation last month.

"All they have to do is publish it and it becomes law," she said.

Biggert said it's not enough for Karzai to simply say he won't publish the text of the law.

Biggert said she and the other congresswomen - California's Susan Davis, Colorado's Diana DeGette, Maryland's Donna Edwards, New Hampshire's Carol Shea-Porter and Arizona's Ann Kirkpatrick - met with Afghani women who said they need "more security."

"These were very conservative women who wore full burqas," Biggert said. "As they got more comfortable with us, they took off some of the covering over their faces and some were bruised, and you could see they were being mistreated, but they didn't speak to us about the law."

The delegation split time at three U.S. military installations and held round-table discussions with female military personnel stationed there, Biggert said.

"We found them very engaged, and their morale is very high," she said. "The biggest concern for some of them is not being able to see their kids for such a long time. There are some who have spouses in the military, and it's very hard that both of them are gone at the same time."

Biggert was also able to award nine service medals to members of the Illinois National Guard who happened to be stationed near Kandahar. The medals were for "exceptional bravery," Biggert said.

Biggert said the trip's focus was related to women's issues, but she met with U.S. military leaders as well to discuss initiatives that could help the war effort.

"I have been working with women's organizations since (the U.S.) first arrived in Afghanistan," she said. "Since I hadn't been there and things are heating up again, I wanted to see firsthand what was going on and see how the military was working with the Afghan people and what we could do to help."

She supports a troop surge in Afghanistan similar to what was done in Iraq to calm insurgent violence nearly a year ago.

"It worked over there," she said. "That's why we've been able to reduce troops in Iraq."