The Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) is holding a briefing on October 31, 2003 in Washington, D.C. on Tibetan women and their roles in the Tibet movement. The briefing will feature remarks by the former Tibetan political prisoner Ngawang Sangdrol and the screening of a trailer from a new documentary about Tibetan women called “Incense Broken, Country Lost” by Rosemary Rawcliffe.

“Incense Broken…Country Lost” is a documentary featuring interviews with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Jetsun Pema, his younger sister, as well as Tibetan freedom fighters Ani Pachen and Ama Adhe and others. It celebrates the courage, power, and triumph of the human spirit. The story begins in Lhasa, 1959, when 15,000 unarmed Tibetan women opposed violent occupation by communist Chinese soldiers. Those women survived decades in prison and perilous escapes, and today, with their daughters and granddaughters, are passing on their rich ancient cultural legacy to exiled Tibetan children.

The briefing will take place in room 2200 of the Rayburn House Office Building, on Capitol Hill, on Friday, October 31, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Congressman Tom Udall (D-NM) will be chairing the briefing.

The CHRC is a bipartisan group of Members of Congress in the United States House of Representatives that works to raise awareness about and combat human rights abuses throughout the world. Representatives Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) are the current cochairmen of the CHRC. The Dalai Lama enunciated his Five Point Peace Plan on the future of Tibet before the CHRC in 1987.

The caucus keeps members and their staff informed of opportunities to help through briefings on human rights topics and letter initiatives.