The members of the League of Women Voters of Hawaii County have been active in addressing quality of life issues for the people of Hawaii for over 50 years. The LWV is a bipartisan educational institution to study and understand legislation and to educate people concerning quality of life issues. Former president Donna Oba explained that members inform people so they can make the best political choices in shaping their future.
Currently, the league is focused on the state and city adoption of the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW. Leadership is working to get resolution No. 568-16 passed on a county level. Introduced by councilwoman Valerie T. Poindexter, the Hawaii County Council will vote today.
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, CEDAW is the only human rights treaty focused on women’s rights. Nationally, women and girls suffer sexual harassment in the workplace and school; one third of women murdered annually are murdered by a current or former partner, on average that is three women a day; women earn 21 percent less than men; 20 percent of women lack health care; and 21 states have waiting lists for child care. Ratified by 194 nations worldwide, the United States in one of seven countries that has failed to ratify and go on record as promoting basic human rights for women. The “Cities for the CEDAW Campaign” seeks to protect the rights of women and girls by passing ordinances that establish the principles of the convention in cities and towns across the United States. Where adopted as local law, the bill has proven effective in addressing the barriers that reduce the quality of life and equity of opportunities for women and girls.
With the leadership of the LWV, the state of Hawaii and the City and County of Honolulu have become the most recent government entities to join the cities campaign and be one of the 15 cities of America to adopt CEDAW. Big Island leadership urges the Hawaii County Council to affirm the tenets and principles of the convention. Civil rights, legal status of women, domestic violence, low pay, availability of child care and access to quality education are all critical issues on the Big Island that the adoption of the resolution will seek to address. Once adopted, local government then commits to improving the status of women and girls by changing laws and policies to provide safer environments and opportunities for girls, women and their families. LWV have called on the Hawaii State Commission On The Status Of Women and the County Of Hawaii Committee On The Status of Women to perform an analysis on gender equality in Hawaii County that will include examination of race, disability, immigration status, and gender or sexual orientation.
Leleua Loupe lives in Keaukaha and is WLV member