Thursday, March 08, 2007

International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. I fact that I would not have known had it not been for kenyc who has taken it upon himself to celebrate this day with gusto.

There are apparently events happening all over the world in observance. And you can surf over and find one happening near you.

If you are currently chained to your internet connection you could mosey over to Amnesty International's website and get involved in the Women's Human Rights & Stop Violence Against Women Campaign.

The action that I received today is a campaign to urge the US government to ratify the UN Conventions on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It is a treaty that has been ratified by over 182 countries. To date the United States is not one of them. Which is disappointing.

You might think that signing a piece of paper that says you believe in something is not that important. But I would beg to differ. What do you think the Declaration of Independence was?

3 comments:

keNYC said...

you know what's cool? the whole thing started with ira. she just mentions this little fact at lunch weds. i say, jokingly, i'm gonna make a shirt that says "i heart women." then later i'm like, fuck that, i AM making a shirt, because that's cool. then i wrote a post. then you wrote a post taking it to the next level of actually looking into stuff and taking some action. so now the idea is all over the blogosphere and getting read all the time (at least on your heavily traveled blog). it's pretty freaking cool if you ask me.

also, about signing papers. definitely is important...but equally important is actually following through. bec the people we have elected to represent us have signed several pieces of paper over the past 3 decades promising to give 0.7% of US annual GNP as development aid to developing countries, but of course we have never actually done that (actual number is like 0.2%). of course, there are no political ramifications for the lying bastards that make and then break these promises, because no one in america has any clue that the people they elected have made them. but rest assured the countries that were depending on that promised money for, like, food and stuff, are fully aware....

(ken, have you been drinking? because youre ranting again.)

ergo said...

kenyc: "heavily travelled?" I wish. It's funny to think about how the word gets out nowadays.

It's interesting that several governments have used the signing of CEDAW as an opportunity to examine inequitable laws and policies and change them to come to the standards set by the Treaty.

ergo said...

and kenyc, there's nothing wrong with drinking and ranting, where do you think this damn blog came from?

Drinking and emailing is another matter altogether...