A Happy CEDAW Mother's Day!

This is a guest post by Students for CEDAW co-founders Lara Yeo & Alex Hayes. For more information find them on Facebook or email them at studentsforcedaw[at]gmail.com.


President Carter signed the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1980. Today, the United States (US) remains one of seven countries – alongside Iran, Nauru, Sudan, Somalia, Palau, and Tonga – that has yet to ratify the Convention. The failure of the US to ratify a UN treaty is not unprecedented. In fact the United States has a history of not ratifying the majority of UN treaties, including the nine core human rights tools of which CEDAW is one.

Such a failure, however, is no cause for complacency. CEDAW matters. The American ratification of CEDAW has been decades in waiting and in such time the global relevance and importance of CEDAW has increased. Reports, statistics, and news articles on CEDAW abound, and the overwhelming conclusion is positive. CEDAW is the single most comprehensive human rights tool that outlines the full spectrum of women’s equal rights. It has also proved practical, translating into concrete change, be it legal, political, social, or cultural, in countries all over the world.

The US has not forgotten CEDAW, as is has proven itself pivotal in bringing about landmark change for the betterment of women and girls all over the world. CEDAW passed through the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1994 and again in 2002, both times never making it to a vote in Senate Treaty No. 96-53. November 2010, marked the first time CEDAW had a Senate hearing scheduled in eight years. The witness testimony one can read online shows resounding American support for CEDAW. President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton, and Senator Boxer, to name a few of the many CEDAW supporters in the Administration and Congress, have been public CEDAW advocates.

CEDAW matters in advancing the full recognition and protection of women’s and girls’ human rights. This has been recognized by the current Administration and select members of Congress, and so what about you?

Senator Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), has yet to schedule a SFRC hearing on CEDAW. The scheduling of a SFRC hearing would allow for CEDAW to come up for a vote in the SFRC, bringing it one step closer to ratification. We need an SFRC hearing on CEDAW now, as the longer CEDAW remains invisible without a hearing the less likely is its passage this congressional session.

What you can do as a belated Mother’s Day gift is to share CEDAW:

• SIGN THE PETITION calling for CEDAW to be ratified in the United States.
• Learn more about CEDAW at the CEDAW Taskforce website
• Don’t let this be the last time you think about CEDAW today. Read about it, talk about it, write about it, blog about it!
• If you are a student, visit “CEDAW: Students for U.S. Ratification,” on Facebook and learn about what other students are doing to raise awareness about CEDAW in their communities.

CEDAW matters and Mother’s Day is an occasion to remember that and to act on behalf of the all the women and girls in your life by calling for CEDAW ratification in the US!

Survivors have their voices heard at the UN

Equally worthy news sources Time Magazine and FMF blogger Kat have been getting buzz going: the recession has brought with it an increase in human trafficking, particularly in cases of child sex trafficking.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 12.3 million people are being trafficked at any given time, with that number mostly being compiled of women and girls.

In response to this dangerous snowballing threat to safety, the UN responded with a series of recently-held hearings specifically on the issue. Truth be told, this is not the first time human trafficking has been brought up in the halls of the UN; its an issue they've been grappling with for quite some time. It is, however, the first time the UN has approached the topic by putting the specialists to the side and the spotlight on survivors. The results were fascinating.


Heart-wrenching stories were shared from all walks of life from Rachel Lloyd (who founded the non-profit GEMS after escaping her own forced sexual exploitation horror story) to Charlotte Awino of Uganda (who was imprisoned 8 years by Ugandan rebels at the age of 14,) Buddhi Gurung of Nepal (who, unlike many, survived being duped by a false work ad, having his passport confiscated and forced to work in a war-zone) and Kikka Cerpa of Venezuela (who was taken to NYC by her boyfriend, under the guise of being a nanny, only to get sold into his family's brothel.)

While the stories came from different corners of the globe, they oozed of the same plea: these people are victims and the official world needs to start seeing them as victims.

In all cases, there was an opportunity for action that was not taken. Awino explained when found by authorities, people in her situation are often mistaken as compliant terrorists, and treated as such. Cerpa reported the multiple times the police raided her brothel, either to demand sex or to arrest the workers. Each time, she was denied the aid she needed because it was never assumed that she was there against her will. Gurung is currently suing the US government (specifically the federal contractors KRB) for human trafficking and is still shocked that in his many encounters with officials, it was always assumed he was a voluntary immigrant worker, even though his papers did not match.

UN Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons Joy Ngozi Ezeilo emphasized penalizing the guilty, not the victims, pushing for stronger law enforcement in each country and financial compensation for the victims.

Reminding those in the hearing of shared humanity, Ezeilo closed by saying "it will be irresponsible if we fail to act. We are humans and we should not support inhuman action...The slave trade has been abolished and we can't accept that in our world today.""

photo credit: mvcorks on flickr.com

Feminism - good for families!

Cross post from former FMF intern Caroline Sellars's blog The Feminist Perspective.

Feminism Strenthens Families

The Values Voters Summit and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell have recently accused feminism of destroying the American family.

Since statements like these come from a hyperbolic stereotype of feminism, it's important to stop and appreciate the many ways that feminist principles have in fact strengthened American families.

Let’s break down what feminism actually advocates. Feminism is “the policy practice or advocacy of political, economic and social equality for women.” Each of these three equalities is crucial to the health and wellbeing of the American family.

1. Social Equality: Feminism advocates that women should have the same social choices as men, including the ability to seek personal fulfillment and economic improvement in the workplace. Some women are happier to work outside the home, and happier women in turn leads to healthier and happier children and families. I speak from experience on this one, as a child of two working parents.

It also gave women the chance to improve their families' economic well-being by providing extra income, and more family income means more opportunities all around.

2. Economic Equality: Once women have entered the workplace, it is important to make sure they are paid the same as their male counterparts. By advocating for pay equality, feminism ensures that women, and the families they spend their money on, are valued adequately.

Studies show that when you invest in women, they will in turn invest 90% of their future income in their families, as compared to 30-40% reinvestment for men. When women make more money, families (that means men, too!) have more resources.

3. Political Equality: Women vote differently than men. Among their top voting priorities are issues that directly affect their families, like the economy and health care. They also favor more cooperation in international strategy which would minimize the human casualties of aggressive and impulsive military tactics.

All these things make us a stronger, healthier, and well-protected nation. When women's voices are excluded from the political scene, countries suffer.

Feminism is about lifting women up, and when women benefit we all benefit. Empowered, healthy women lead to empowered, healthy families, and thus a stable nation. The real thing to fear is what families would be without the gains of feminism.

Photo: fifikins via Flickr

A filly walks into a bar...

...and the bartender says "Why the long face?"

Some good news to start the week:

Four women won seats in the Kuwaiti Parliament after the country's elections Saturday. Kuwait has never had female MPs. We hope they will have a productive time there, and will bring a much-needed voice to the government.

Congrats to Rachel Alexandra, who ran from the front wire-to-wire Saturday to win the Preakness Stakes. Feministing's assessment of the media coverage around the race was right on.

Last Friday, I saw the Examiner's above-the-fold headline of "You Go, Girl!" This was certainly out of character, so when I looked below the fold, of course Rachel Alexandra was the cover horse. It's safe to say the Examiner wouldn't give a woman similar encouragement, so that's as feministy as the Examiner gets. Good start.

Slate launched Double X, a site for women's commentary on news, politics, art, and science. A lot of the posts grapple with the (ir)relevance of feminism, which I find troubling. But some of the contributors do write thoughtful pieces from a feminist perspective. Judge for yourself and let us know what you think.

And the bad news:

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled women who took maternity leave before the Pregnancy Discrimination Act can't sue for bigger pensions. Justice Souter wrote the majority opinion, while Justices Ginsburg and Breyer dissented. Yet another reason it's imperative President Obama replace Justice Souter with a progressive and feminist jurist.

Additionally, the Burmese junta is trying democratic opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for violating the terms of her 6-year house arrest. To me, this raises one of the key questions of American foreign policy:

Should our democracy be the shining city on the hill, in which we lead solely by example? Or do we embrace the Truman doctrine, in which the US actively "support[s] free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures?"

President Obama has his hands full as he negotiates the extent of U.S. involvement of foreign affairs. Best of luck to him.

Questions? Comments? You know where to find us: campusteam@feminist.org.