OLD Jayne Blog on nonprofits/ngos, communications, community engagement, volunteerism, aid & development, women's empowerment, & random thoughts

March 8 is International Women's Day

11:51, 7 March 2009

.. Posted in Development, Relief and Advocacy Efforts


.. Link

March 8 is International Women's Day, as declared by the United Nations. It's not a day to give women flowers, or to take your favorite woman out to dinner. Rather, it's a day to

• think about how much the conditions for women have improved in so many parts of the world,
• identify how those improvements have been achieved, and
• acknowledge that there's still much to be done.

Climate change, illiteracy, lack-of-health care, unemployment, war, crime and poverty all affect women in greater proportion than men, by far. In many parts of the world, pregnancy is a death sentence. In many parts of the world, women can't even pass their citizenship on to their children, let alone own land or have rights after a divorce. In many parts of the world, women and girls are still sold and traded. And in most parts of the world, women are still paid far less than men for the same work.

There is a global women's rights treaty completed 30 years ago that still has not been passed by the USA. Who else hasn't passed it? Sudan, Somalia, Qatar, Iran, Nauru, Palau and Tonga. Known as CEDAW (SEE-daw), the treaty's formal name is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Since its adoption by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979, all but eight of the 192 U.N. members have become a party to it.

Why is passing such a treaty important? Political leverage. Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and other countries where women are grossly mistreated have signed the treaty, but the countries don't enforce its tenets yet. But once a country signs such a document, activists in the country start using it for political leverage. When people take action in the country regarding women's rights, they remind politicians of the document's signing: "We are doing this per the government's own endorsement of such activities." It does carry weight: I saw Afghan men begrudgingly engage in activities that supported women's empowerment (and some not so begrudgingly) after being reminded of the various national legislation that has been passed ensuring women's equal rights in the country.

But if the USA doesn't sign, every country has an "out" not to enforce the treaty. As Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, said "It sends a kind of 'ugly American' signal that we expect to hold other countries to a standard that we're not willing to accept for ourselves."

And, no, contrary to the radical religious fundamentalists' messages (I mean the ones in the USA, not Afghanistan), CEDAW will NOT lead to legalized prostitution, an increase in abortions and out-of-wedlock births, or a breakdown of "traditional families" (whatever THAT is).

Hope you will contact your Senator and let him or her know that it is vitally important that the USA adopt this critical convention without limitations or exemptions.

More info:

CEDAW

Treaty supporters: http://www.womenstreaty.org/