What is CEDAW? CEDAW is the acronym for the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. CEDAW is an International human rights treaty that was adopted in 1979 by UN General Assembly and went into effect as International law in 1981. CEDAW was signed by US government in 1979, but CEDAW treaty has never been brought to the Senate for a vote to be ratified( it needs 2/3 of senate vote). Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

The U.S. constitution does not grant equal rights to women U.S. law does not have a clear definition of discrimination Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

U.S. Inequality in Earning In 2014, women working in the United States were paid just 79 percent of what men were paid, a gap of 21% The gap has narrowed due to women’s progress in education and workforce participation. Progress on decreasing the pay gap has stalled in recent years, and the pay gap does not appear likely to go away on its own. Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

CEDAW provides a clear, comprehensive and internationally recognized legal definition of DISCRIMINATION,* currently lacking in U.S. law. “ …any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in political, economic, social, cultural, civil or an other field.” This legal definition of discrimination is consistent with that encoded into the U.N. Convention on Elimination all Forms of Racial Discrimination adopted on 1965 Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

United States is NOT at the forefront of women's rights United state is one of six countries in the world that has not ratified CEDAW along with Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Palau and Tonga. Since Geena Davis and Sen. Dick Durbin made this presentation, Nauru ratified CEDAW Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

Cities for CEDAW WIN is Leading women NGOs and civil society, organizing in support of implementing municipal CEDAW ordinances with the “Cities for CEDAW Campaign” By engaging additional U.S. cities in implementing CEDAW, we are hoping to increase strong support for CEDAW locally to create conditions under which the U.S. senate will ratify CEDAW nationally. Over 40 cities and towns have passed resolutions endorsing CEDAW ratification Over 20 state legislatures have passed resolutions endorsing CEDAW San Francisco, Los Angeles, Berkeley(CA) and Portland(OR) have all adopted CEDAW as municipal law Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

Mayor Garcetti – Cities for CEDAW Los Angeles has adopted CEDAW ordinance. Mayor Garcetti believes that the CEDAW ordinances have materially improved the lives of women in their municipalities. Mayor Garcetti released the first in a series of gender studies and issued an Executive Directive on CEDAW. For the first time in the history of Los Angeles, all of the city’s databases were open to independent researchers. Reporting on the City of Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm5dig9Hmuk Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

Long Beach for CEDAW Council woman Suzie Price and her Chief of Staff Julie Maleki have been drafting CEDAW resolution for the City of Long Beach. She is planning to present the resolution to the City council meeting to vote. This presentation is planned for the International Women’s Day. By adopting a resolution in support of CEDAW, the City of Long Beach would increase awareness of the goals of CEDAW to achieve gender equity in the areas of political participation and representation, income, access to healthcare, and public safety. Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

Senate Hearing Reignite Hope for CEDAW On June 24th, 2014 Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee chair Senator Barbara Boxer held a hearing, featuring testimony by an unprecedented number of women senators, called for action on CEDAW to stem the tide of violence against women and girls across the globe. But no action is taken on the national level yet Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

WIN & Cities for CEDAW report to CEDAW Committee in Geneva Marilyn Fowler, President of WIN along with the US Cities for CEDAW Campaign Reporting to the CEDAW Committee on the groundbreaking “Cities for CEDAW” campaign in Geneva for November 15, 2015 session. Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

WHAT DOES CEDAW DO locally? Prevent violence against women and meet the victim’s need In United State, two million women a year report injuries from current or former partners. A KPCC report on homelessness Bari Goldojarb of the Good Shepherd Shelter mentions that domestic Violence accounts for 21% of the homelessness Ensure proper access to education and health care Provide legal recourse against violations of women’s human right Empowers us to demand Equal pay Empowers us to demand safe environment Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

WHAT DOES CEDAW DO globally? In 2009 National Women’s Lawyers Association challenged the High Court of Bangladesh to step in and take action as there was no national law against sexual harassment Through CEDAW we can hold U.S. manufacturers accountable so tragedy’s like “Bangladesh garment factory collapse” is prevented Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

WHAT DOES CEDAW DO globally? In 2004, a new family law in Morocco strengthened women’s rights in marriage, divorce, property and custody of children In 2007, Morocco passed a law acknowledging women’s right to their own nationality. This is due to fact that in some countries only father can pass their nationality to their children Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

WHAT CAN YOU DO to CEDAW ? Raise awareness by Educating your family, friends and colleagues about the importance of CEDAW. Become a peer leader in your city to demand policy makers pass CEDAW Resolution Join “Cities for CEDAW” Campaign Urge your organization to sign-on as a supporter of CEDAW. Support other CEDAW grassroots activities in the United States Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

Is your city the next city for CEDAW? Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.

Links on CEDAW: http://winaction.org/ http://citiesforcedaw.org/ http://www.un.org/ http://now.org/ http://www.ngocsw.org http://www.aauw.org/who-we-are/ https://www.facebook.com/Iranian-Circle-of-Womens-Intercultural-Network-ICWIN Prepared by: ICWIN-N.A.