Baha’is support the following legislation and international agreements toward the advancement of women worldwide.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

The CEDAW treaty for the rights of women, formally known as the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, provides a universal standard for women’s human rights. It addresses discrimination in areas such as education, employment, marriage and family relations, and health care.

International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA)

The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) is an important effort by the United States government to decrease violence against women and girls globally. This piece of legislation will help support survivors, hold perpetrators accountable and prevent violence. The bill would increase U.S. diplomatic attention to decreasing violence against women and incorporate best practices into U.S. foreign assistance. Read a summary of the bill.

On February 4, 2010, U.S. Senators John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Olympia J. Snowe, and Susan Collins, and U.S. Representatives Bill Delahunt, Ted Poe and Jan Schakowsky, introduced the groundbreaking International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). The bill is H.R.4594 in the House and S.2982 in the Senate.

IVAWA presents a critical opportunity for the United States to protect, defend, and empower the world’s women. It is a comprehensive piece of legislation that will integrate violence prevention in U.S. foreign policy and support innovative programs that have been shown to effectively reduce violence against women and girls.

For many of us, recent reports on international violence against women seem distant and incomprehensible. On any given day, horrifying stories about such violence appear in the news: the systematic rape of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, increasing assaults on women and girls in Afghanistan, shocking brutalities in Guinea. Sadly, this violence is not isolated to a few women in a few places. In fact, approximately one out of three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, with rates of domestic violence reaching 70 percent in some countries. No country is immune – the violence crosses all borders and affects women of all ages, social groups, religions and classes.   

Baha'is work with a large network of nongovernmental organizations advocating for passage of the IVAWA bill. To learn more, please visit: http://www.womenthrive.org or http://www.passivawa.org/.

How to help: In the coming weeks, Members of Congress will review this groundbreaking legislation--H.R.4594 in the House and S.2982 in the Senate--in preparation for a vote. Individual Baha'is in the United States are encouraged to urge further congressional support of this bi-partisan initiative to advance the status of women globally by writing to their senators and representatives. Find your member of Congress, or download the IVAWA advocacy toolkit to learn more.