HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0953.009 2014-2016 Re5.
Murashige, Laura
From: mjmmermaid@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2016 9:47 PM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: testimony 586-16I
Name: Mary Jo Morrow
email: mjmmermaid@aol.com
Phone: 808-261-8393
Meeting: Date: 2016-09-06
Council: Public-Hearing
Agenda Item: Bill 586-16 CEDAW
Your position on the
matter: Support the Bill
Representing: self
Organization: AAUW Windward Oahu Chapter
I support this Bill for many reasons mainly these:
1) women have earned the right to be equal and responsible citizens including property, economic status, and voting
status.
2) women have the right to be free of all gender based violence.
3) women have the right to the best available health and equal job opportunities, and education.
4) women have the right to decide whether to be married, to have children, the number and spacing of their children.
5) women have the right to safe childbearing.
Thank you for your time and support of women's rights.
Sincerely,
Mary Jo Morrow
Legal Advocacy Fund G� `
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�53
9
Comm. No. �
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Ref. Dote SEP 0 7 2016
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of Hawaii
September 4, 2016
To: Hawai`i County Council
Hearing Date/Time: Wednesday, September 7, 2016 (9:00 a.m.)
Place: Hawai`i County Building, Rm. 329
Re: Testimony of American Association of University Women—
Hawai`i in support of Res. 568-16,requesting the County of
Hawaii to support the principles of the United Nations'
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination
Against Women
Dear Dru Mamo Kanuha(Chair), Valerie T. Poindexter(Vice Chair), and Members
of the Council,
I am grateful for this opportunity to testify in strong support of Res. 568-16,
requesting the County of Hawai`i "affirm the tenets and principles within the"
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW), while encouraging the County to work with the Hawaii State
Commission on the Status of Women, and the County of Hawai`i's Committee on
the Status of Women.
My testimony is on behalf of the approximately 450 members of the American
Association of University Women(AAUW) in Hawaii. AAUW has focused on equality
for women since 1881. CEDAW"is often described as an international bill of rights for
women" (UN, CEDAW, 1st paragraph), and as such, honoring this treaty has special
significance for women in Hawai`i.
Women number approximately half the population in Hawai`i, but are under-
represented in many important socio-economic spheres here. For example, "women hold
27.6% of seats in the state legislature;" "women ... will not see equal pay until 2051;"
"women own only 31% of businesses in the state;" etc. (Institute for Women's Policy
Research [2015] "Status of Women in Hawaii"). It is time to examine seriously the
situation of women in this state, and a good first step is to become more aware of the
CEDAW principles. In conclusion,passage of Res. 568-16 is an important step toward a
more CEDAW-aware and compliant Hawai`i county government for the good of half the
population, currently under-represented in government.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Sincerely
Susan J. Wurtzburg, Ph.D.
Policy Chair