Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

A woman was arrested recently in Saudi-Arabia for driving a car because women are still not allowed to drive in that country. Reading the article in the paper made me feel luckier than usual that I am a woman born in the United States, and luckier still that my two daughters were born here as well. My feeling of good fortune was brief, however, when I read about CEDAW and its' slow journey to fruition.

Since CEDAW's adoption by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979, all but eight of the 192 U.N. members have become a party to it with the United States one of the holdouts. After learning about the existence of this treaty, signed by President Carter in 1980 and still waiting to be ratified, I Googled CEDAW and read about not only what this treaty is but about its difficulty being ratified and the reasons why.

They are legislators who believe that eliminating discrimination against women will increase abortion, legalize prostitution, and cancel Mother's Day and as such, they vote against CEDAW. Don't any of these people have daughters? Who votes them into Congress? If one searches the web for this treaty, countless sites will be found encouraging people to thank the legislators who voted against it, urging people to contact their Congress members to do the same.

I say thank you to the following Senators who voted for CEDAW in committee:

Biden (D-DE)

Sarbanes (D-MD)

Dodd (D-CT)

Kerry (D-MA)

Feingold (D-WI)

Wellstone (D-MN)

Boxer (D-CA)

Torricelli (D-NJ)

Bill Nelson (D-FL)

Rockefeller (D-WV)

Gordon Smith (R-OR)

Chafee (R-RI)

And to the Senators who voted against CEDAW in committee:

Helms (R-NC)

Lugar (R-IN)

Hagel (R-NE)

Frist (R-TN)

Allen (R-VA)

Brownback (R-KS)

Enzi (R-WY)

I say it's an embarrassment that the U.S. stands with countries such as Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Qatar, Nauru, Palau and Tonga in failing to ratify the treaty. Even Saudia Arabia, the country that arrests women for driving, ratified CEDAW. The United States lawmakers think less of women than they do.

Of course, the opponents of CEDAW who contend that ratification could lead to legalized prostitution and fewer restrictions on abortion are the same people who keep gambling illegal so the economy can't benefit from people enjoying spending their own money for their own entertainment. Certainly, some of them are also the same people who take advantage of the services provided by the practitioners of the prostitution they want kept illegal. The treaty does not legalize prostitution, but would recommended decriminalization so that women who are victims of sexual slavery and trafficking in countries where it is practiced won't be deterred from seeking help from authorities and what is wrong with that?

In 1994 and 2002, the treaty came before the Senate but failed to win ratification. CEDAW supporters say the treaty has been valuable in numerous countries in expanding property and political rights, developing domestic violence policies, and improving education for girls.

I didn't know about this treaty before, but I know about it now and I am going to do what I can to see it is ratified in my life time if not for me, than for my daughters. How many other American woman are unaware of CEDAW? Ask around and spread the word. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton got an awful lot done without the advantage of the Internet. Imagine what that they would have accomplished with it. Imagine what we can accomplish.

attic4fester
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Wikipedia: CEDAW

http://politicsavvy.blogspot.com