吃瓜直播

Tomorrow will mark , providing an opportunity both to celebrate women and the strides we鈥檝e made towards equality, and to recommit ourselves to the ongoing struggles for women鈥檚 rights.

On Thursday night, in conjunction with the 53rd Session of the United Nations , the 吃瓜直播 and partner organizations hosted a dynamic roundtable discussion with human rights advocates about their visions for engaging with the Obama administration to advance women鈥檚 rights.

From left to right: Betsy Hawkings, Amnesty International; Malika Saada Saar, Rebecca Project for Human Rights; Lenora Lapidus, 吃瓜直播 Women's Rights Project; Andrea Ritchie, Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center; Sarah Paoletti, University of Pennsylvania Law School Transnational Legal Clinic; Ivy Suriyopas, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Cathy Albisa, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative and Louise Melling, 吃瓜直播 Reproductive Freedom Project.

Speakers (PDF) offered messages of excitement, opportunity, and hope 鈥� recognizing the women鈥檚 rights victories that have been won in just the last six weeks (Ledbetter, the repeal of the Global Gag Rule) 鈥� but also cautioned against the temptation to 鈥渟it back on our laurels,鈥� and stressed the importance of pushing the administration and Congress to make real change for the women and girls at the margins of society.

Professor Yakin Ert眉rk, the , started the evening off by sharing her thoughts about the global significance of Obama鈥檚 election and her support of domestic human rights advocates鈥� work to combat violence against women in the U.S.

Malika Saada Saar of the talked about the 鈥渃radle-to-prison-pipeline鈥� that funnels children of color into the juvenile and criminal justice systems, and called for recognition of the 鈥渟exual abuse to prison pipeline,鈥� which incarcerates children who have suffered abuse 鈥� disproportionately girls 鈥� rather than treating them. Cathy Albisa of the highlighted the need, not only for policies that directly address women鈥檚 rights, but also for a discussion of how women are impacted in the crafting of all government policies. She pointed out the glaring absence of a gender perspective in the national conversation about economic recovery and health care reform, and urged the critical importance of arming American women with the tools necessary to empower their families and communities, a strategy that advocates use with great success in other countries.

Several of the advocates identified the need to not only reach for the low-hanging fruit but also to think strategically about what our larger goals for the next four to eight years will be. They called for human rights activists to unite and fight side by side for their causes, to recognize that workers鈥� rights are women鈥檚 rights are immigrants鈥� rights are LGBT rights are human rights.

One of the solutions proposed was international human rights treaty ratification as the basis for continuing the struggle for women鈥檚 rights and reigniting a critical conversation about the 鈥渇orgotten and/or disparaged rights that are so central to women鈥檚 lives." In fact, it is critical to note that all of the major human rights treaties that have not been ratified by the U.S. are of particular importance to women and girls: the , the , and the .

In the last six weeks, we鈥檝e already seen an administration that is more receptive to hearing our visions for a better future for women, affirming that this is the right moment to recommit as a nation to advancing women鈥檚 human rights.

Stay tuned for more follow-up on Thursday night鈥檚 event and visit the 吃瓜直播鈥檚 website to learn more about the work of the Women鈥檚 Rights Project and the Human Rights Program.

鈥� Selene Kaye & Nahal Zamani