Regarding Joan Beck’s commentary titled “Albright’s push to bring women’s issues to the foreign policy forefront applauded” (Op-Ed, March 27):
Ms. Beck has reported very well on women’s lack of control throughout the world, but two points appear misleading.
First, she thinks the deep roots of economic and cultural practices are so difficult to change that the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will accomplish little.
We believe the high goals and action plan have made a difference in countries where the plan has been signed. Many women at the Beijing Conference in 1995 wanted to know why the U.S. hasn’t ratified it because they look to us for leadership. The U.S. can use the UN Convention if a country is engaging in discriminatory practices. It’s another way to increase our standing internationally. Locally, the Evanston Campaign to Ratify CEDAW is a grass-roots endeavor stemming from the YWCA, Evanston/North Shore.
Second, although feminists were thwarted for years by some countries’ tradition of genital mutilation of girls, pressure from foreigners and publicity from young women fleeing homelands for that reason have resulted in host countries changing their laws so that now we see progress, as reported by local African or Asian women who demanded that the practice be stopped.
