This Mother's Day, Urge your Senators to Stand Up for Women and Mothers

Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Nauru, Palau, Tonga, and the United States.

Those are the seven nations worldwide that have not yet ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a landmark international treaty that affirms women's human rights. Although the U.S. played a major role in drafting the treaty and signed it in 1980, it has never been ratified by the Senate. In fact, CEDAW has been dormant in the Senate since 2002, when it was last reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But we're happy to report that, last year, the Obama administration prioritized CEDAW ratification, prompting a reenergized campaign to join the 186 countries around the world that have ratified CEDAW.

Across the globe, CEDAW has been used to ensure primary education for girls, improve access to health care services, combat human trafficking, pass laws against domestic violence and female genital mutilation, and allow women to own and inherit property.

Domestically, ratification of CEDAW would encourage the U.S. to take stronger action against issues such as gender-based and domestic violence, as well as discrimination against women in housing, education and employment. Though ratifying CEDAW will not automatically result in changes to U.S. law, it would provide a new and significant opportunity for a national dialogue on the gains made and the challenges that remain to improve women's full equality.

>> This Mother's Day, urge your Senators to stand up for women and mothers in the U.S. and across the globe by finally ratifying CEDAW..