Speak out in favor of women's rights

Beheadings. Forced prostitution. Denial of health care. Genital mutilation. Dowry-related killings. Domestic violence.

March 8 is International Women's Day, and 1998 marks the 50th Anniversary of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This gives us a good occasion to reflect upon the situation of women around the globe. The fact is that women continue to face blatant discrimination and violence on an international scale, and many of them have no voice.

A crucial tool for all those who defend women's rights is the U.N. Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), an international treaty, which sets the standard for governments to follow when creating laws dealing with discrimination against women. It refutes the all-too-common argument that violence and discrimination are a part of local tradition.

Since it was drafted in 1979, more than 160 countries from every continent and culture have ratified this convention and used it to support the efforts of those who fight to end violations against women throughout the world. CEDAW has been put to work in countries, such as Nepal, Japan, Tanzania and Botswana, to challenge laws that relegate women to second-class citizens. But, in 1998, guess which country has failed to ratify CEDAW. The Good Ol' USA.

Why is it important that the U.S. Senate ratify CEDAW? If we are unwilling to ratify CEDAW, then we have no right to condemn horrific abuses against women. While Secretary of State Madeleine Albright calls the Taliban faction in Afghanistan "despicable," she and other U.S. diplomats cannot invoke CEDAW's standards without charges of hypocrisy by violating governments.

Our Senate's failure to ratify CEDAW also sends a disturbing message to women and men in this country -- that supporting women's rights around the world is not a priority for the U.S. government.

For all these reasons, U.S. ratification of CEDAW is supported by a diverse coalition of 120 organizations, from the American Association of Retired Perons to the YWCA, from the American Veterans Committee to the United Methodist Church. There appears to be a clear, bipartisan majority in the Senate, but no action has been taken on the Convention in more than three years. The U.S. Senate ratified on an overwhelming and bipartisan basis the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. It is difficult to understand why there wouldn't be an equally strong consensus that discrimination and violence against women and girls should also be prohibited.

On this eve of International Women's Day and in the 50th year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Senate should take this important and cost-free step to support the efforts of women around the globe before it adjourns at the end of the 105th Congress.

A coalition of Penn State campus groups and individuals, headed by Amnesty International, has been active in lobbying our senators to support this important Convention. We are pleased to congratulate U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., for his pledge of support for CEDAW. U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, R-Pa., is yet undecided, citing "concerns" about the document as it currently stands.

Before heading south for spring break, I strongly encourage everyone to register your support of CEDAW at Santorum's office in Washington, D.C. [(202) 224-6324 or senator@santorum.senate.gov] so that we can convince him to take a strong stand for women on International Women's Day.