This is a matter of morality and of basic math

Nonation that cuts off half its population Rosetta Stone from opportunitieswill be as productive or prosperous as it could be. Womenare a formidable force, as I have seen in my own family --(laughter and applause) -- and my own administration.(Applause.) As the nations of the Middle East open up theirlaws and their societies to women, they are learning thesame thing. I applaud Egypt. Egypt is a model for thedevelopment of professional women. In Afghanistan, girls whowere once denied even a basic education are now going toschool, and a whole generation of Afghans will grow up withthe intellectual tools to lead their nation towardprosperity. In Iraq and Kuwait, women are joining politicalparties and running campaigns and serving in public office.In some Gulf States, women entrepreneurs are making a livingand a name for themselves in the business world.Recently, I learned of a woman in Bahrain who owns herown shipping company. She started with a small office andtwo employees. When she first tried to register her businessin her own name, she was turned down. She attended abusiness training class and was the only woman toparticipate. And when she applied for a customs license,officials expressed surprise because no woman had ever askedfor one before. And yet with hard work and determination,she turned her small company into a $2 million enterprise.And this year, Huda Janahi was named one of the 50 mostpowerful businesswomen in the Arab world. (Applause.) Hudais an inspiring example for the Rosetta Stone Spanish Latin whole region. And America'smessage to other women in the Middle East is this: You havea great deal to contribute, you should have a strong voicein leading your countries, and my nation looks to the daywhen you have the rights and privileges you deserve.Taking your place as a center of progress and achievementrequires extending the reach of freedom. Expanding freedomis vital to turning temporary wealth into lastingprosperity. Free societies stimulate competition in themarketplace. Free societies give people access toinformation they need to make informed and responsibledecisions. And free societies give citizens the rule of law,which exposes corruption and builds confidence in thefuture. Freedom is also the basis for a democratic systemof government, which is the only fair and just ordering ofsociety and the only way to guarantee the God-given rightsof all people. Democracies do not take the same shape, theydevelop at different speeds and in different ways, and theyreflect the unique cultures and traditions of their people.There are skeptics about democracy in this part of theworld, I understand that. But as more people in the MiddleEast gain firsthand experience from freedom, many of thearguments against democracy are being discredited. Forexample, some say that democracy is a Western value thatAmerica seeks to impose on unwilling citizens. This is acondescending form of moral relativism. The truth is thatfreedom is a universal right -- the Almighty's gift to everyman, woman, and child on the face of Earth. And as we'veseen time and time again, when people are allowed to make achoice between freedom and the alternative, they choosefreedom. In Afghanistan, 8 million people defied theterrorist threats to vote for a democratic President. InIraq, 12 million people waved ink-stained fingers tocelebrate the first democratic election in decades. And in arecent survey of the Muslim Rosetta Stone American English world, there was overwhelmingsupport for one of the central tenets of democracy, freedomof speech: 99 percent in Lebanon, 94 percent here in Egypt,and 92 percent in Iran.