Facilitate Adoption of CEDAW at Local, State and Federal Level

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women or CEDAW, adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. The Convention defines discrimination against women as "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 the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field. The Convention is the only human rights treaty, which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations. It affirms women's rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children. States Parties also agree to take appropriate measures against all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of women.

As of 2024, The United States and Palau have signed, but not ratified the treaty. The Holy See, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, and Tonga are not signatories to CEDAW.

Text of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

• Right to good quality education (articles 10 to 14)
• Right to comprehensive health services, including on family planning (articles 11,12 and 14)
• Right to access loans and other forms of financial credits (articles 13 and 14)
• Right to join leisure, sports and cultural activities (articles 10, 13 and 14)
• Right to decide on the number of children and on the number of years between pregnancies (article 16)
• Right to shared parenting responsibilities (articles 5 to 16)
• Right to have equal access to jobs, benefits and social security (articles 11 and 14)
• Right to be paid equally based on the work they do (article 11)
• Right to be free from all forms of violence whether physical, sexual, emotional, mental or economic (General Recommendations 12 and 19)
• Right to be free from all forms of slavery and prostitution (article 6)
• Right to vote, run for election and hold public office (article 7)
• Right to represent the country internationally (article 8)
• Right to acquire, change or retain nationality and citizenship (article 9)

A national campaign with peer leaders Women Intercultural Network and the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women (SFDOSW) culminating in strong public commitments to enforceable CEDAW ordinances in 100 US cities supported by a Resolution   at the US Mayor’s Conference in San Francisco, June, 2015. See the attached Cities for CEDAW Concept Note.

2024 is the 10th anniversary of Cities for CEDAW. Two sessions were organized by the Women’s Intercultural Network at the CSW 68.

List of cities that are actively engaged in the Cities for CEDAW campaign

More resources on Cities for CEDAW

The US signed CEDAW in 1979, but the US Senate has not ratified it despite on-going advocacy in favor of ratification from diverse civil society organizations working at the national level. Los Angeles has since adopted a similar ordinance to San Francisco. Mayors of both San Francisco and Los Angeles believe that the CEDAW ordinances have materially improved the lives of women in their municipalities and fostered more transparent and accountable governance.

By engaging 98 additional U.S. cities in implementing CEDAW, this campaign hopes to increase awareness of, strong support for CEDAW implementation and demonstrate its usefulness as a tool for achieving gender equity: in political participation and representation, in income and earnings, in access to healthcare throughout the life cycle and in public and personal safety. This mobilization of civic engagement for Mayoral action in 2015 should create conditions under which the U.S. senate will ratify CEDAW.

Iranian Circle of Women Intercultural Network (ICWIN), with the perseverance of Nazanin Amani initiated the process of passing a resolution on CEDAW in City of Long Beach.   On March 1, 2016, Council Woman Suzie Price presented a resolution to the City of Long Beach on March 8^, 2016 and the City Council members passed it with nine in favor vote.   Long Beach, California is one of the 42 cities that have adopted this resolution.  City of Long Beach is collaborating with California State University of Long Beach for a gender study, which will provide the basis to ratify this resolution into the law in the city of Long Beach.

The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW ) which is also called the Bill of Rights for Women and Girls is an International convention that as of June of 2023, six countries Iran, US, Sudan, Somalia Palau & Tonga have not ratified it yet. Cities for CEDAW is a campaign to protect the rights of women and girls by passing ordinances establishing the principles of CEDAW in cities and towns across the United States. The campaign was launched at a meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2013 by the Women’s Intercultural Network ( WIN ) .  Many Cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles have already passed an ordinance or resolution for CEDAW.   The Iranian Circle of WIN ( ICWIN ) members embarked on passing CEDAW resolution at the City of Long Beach in 2014 and thanks to Nazanin Amani who worked closely with Suzie Price, City council member on March 1st 2016, The City Council  of Long Beach adopted Resolution  in support of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Members of the chapter of National Organization of Women ( NOW ) and American Association of University Women also supported and were present at the City Council of Long Beach when the resolution passed.

ICWIN members and other gender equality advocates of the City of Long Beach, at City Council – January 1, 2016

The experience in SF, LA, and other cities has proven that Women’s Commissions are the backbone of any ordinance on CEDAW.  So the idea of establishing a women’s commission was formed.   Elahe Amani,  Chair of the Global Circles of WIN and resident of the City of Long Beach along with other gender equality advocates in Long Beach embarked on the journey to establish a Commission of Women.  The collective efforts led by  by Activist, author and speaker, Zoe Nicholson.

On January 10th 2022, the Memorandum of the City of Long Beach stated “According to reports from the Office of Equity, among all full-time workers in Long Beach, White men earn nearly twice as much as Latina women1, and 63 percent of Black women heads of household are considered rent-burdened, compared to 52 percent of White women heads of household. A Commission on Women and Girls in Long Beach can serve as a space for specific education, outreach, and advocacy in our community for the advancement of women and girls in pursuit of the elimination of gender-based inequities. In addition to the California State Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG), there are 25 women’s commissions in cities and counties throughout California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Marin, and San Joaquin Counties. Cities including San Francisco, Pasadena, Glendale, and others have also established Commissions to advise their city Councils on the needs and concerns of women of all ages, races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Women’s Commissions promote gender equity and the empowerment of women in their communities. In California and across the country, Women’s Commissions are utilized to gain an understanding of the issues affecting women and girls in their communities and work to uplift and advocate for these issues. These Commissions have led initiatives targeting issues affecting women and girls like domestic violence, poverty, pay equity, incarceration, and economic advancement. In municipalities with Women’s Commissions, they serve an important role in advocating for issues and leading policy priorities affecting women. Ultimately, Women’s Commissions listen and learn from their community and ensure local women’s experiences guide their policy choice.”

Elahe Aman and Renee Simon, City Council, 2023

On July 18th, 2023 the Women’s Fair + ERA Centennial celebration was organized in the City of Long Beach. Members of ICWIN were actively present and tabling and the event was sponsored by the Women’s Intercultural Network ( WIN ). The first agenda on the City Council session on July 18th was establishing a Women and Girls Commission. After decades of advocacy, and seven years after adaptation of CEDAW Resolution, the City Council formally established a new Commission on Women and Girls and marked a historic moment for Long Beach. And to make it even more poignant, July 18, vote coincided with the 100th anniversary of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment being introduced to Congress for the first time.
The idea of a women’s commission was first introduced by former Long Beach City Councilwoman Renee Simon — a longtime women’s rights advocate and just the second woman in the city’s history elected to the council. She attended the first UN women’s conference in Mexico City in 1975. She came back to Long Beach and asked her all-male colleagues to establish a women’s commission, but it was essentially dead on arrival.
Forty eight years later, on July 18th, Renee Simon attended the City Council session that voted unanimously to establish the Women and Girls Commission.
We all keep moving forward and never turning back!

ICWIN members and supporters at the Women’s Fair – Long Beach- 2023

We invite you to become peer leaders in your city or village. If you are an NGO, connect with a governmental organization or with an NGO if you are governmental. This partnership is critical for success.

Sign up to get involved in the campaign by clicking here.

Here are some of the resources in our Tool Kit:

Cities for CEDAW Fact Sheet

CEDAW Ordnance Template for your city.

“Nuts and Bolts: City Action Plan to implement CEDAW” (pdf)

How to Organize a City Coalition with Marilyn Fowler, WIN President and CEO
Part 1: UNCSW 58
Part 2: UNCSW 58

CEDAW Resolution for US Mayors to sign (pdf).

“Making Rights Real” workbook (pdf).

For more mayors and videos about Cities for CEDAW, see Cities for CEDAW YouTube Channel.

For more about WIN, see our Website, Facebook, and weblog.

For more about our co leader, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, They are working with the mayors and governmental entities. For more about that phase of the campaign, see the Cities for CEDAW Facebook. link

Get involved!