Norton Forum to Hear from D.C. Women Who Served In Iraq & Afghanistan (3/31/08)

Norton Forum to Hear from D.C. Women Who Served in Iraq and Afghanistan

March 31, 2008

Washington, DC - In honor of Women's History Month, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will host a forum featuring women who serve in the D.C. National Guard who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Congresswoman Norton, having recently returned from official travel in India for much of the month of March, will hold the forum in April, (time and date to be announced). Norton had planned this forum before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited her to be a member of the congressional delegation recently returned from India.

Norton said that it is important to break the silence on women in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Women are a sizable and indispensable part of today's armed services," Norton said. "Yet we know little of them and even less of their experience in this lengthy shooting war. For all intents and purposes, women are serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan." Today Afghanistan has heated up; Iraq is seeing more violence; and US forces are engaged in unilateral strikes in Pakistan.

"I can think of no better way to celebrate American women this year than by hearing directly from women who have been on the front lines."