A Collective Call for Change 

WomenNC and CEDAW (Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women)

By Kendall Clodfelter

I am one—one of the 5,047,190 women in North Carolina. I was 15 when I first heard of CEDAW. CEDAW stands for the Cities and Counties for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. It’s the only women’s rights legislation that holds the government accountable for gender-based violence, and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. Think of it as a modern-day ERA.



CEDAW was initiated in Santa Barbara, California in 1998. While the Cities for CEDAW initiative began in May of 2015, it has already by enacted in 189 countries since it was brought to the UN Assembly in 1979. The United States is still the only developed nation not to ratify CEDAW, being in company with countries such as Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga. CEDAW was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, however, the US senate never ratified the legislation.



Since the Cities for CEDAW movement began, there have been 47 counties and 19 cities in the Unites States to enact the legislation, but no entire state has adopted it. After CEDAW was passed in San Francisco, the city went 44 months without any reports of domestic violence. In North Carolina today, women still make 14.3% of what their similarly educated/employed male counterparts do. North Carolina needs a change, and it’s starting now.

WomenNC has led the CEDAW movement in North Carolina since its founding in 2009 by Beth Dehghan. Beth founded WomenNC as an organization that strives to create awareness around CEDAW and women’s legislation and bring it to the North Carolina government. So far, with the help of Scholars and staff from prestigious universities in the area CEDAW was enacted for the first time in North Carolina in Durham County on September 11th, 2017. 



WomenNC, along with a team of UNC Master of Public Health students, are currently working to bring CEDAW to Greensboro and Guilford County, NC.

WomenNC works to provide a space of empowerment, training, and education for the next generation of women in North Carolina. WomenNC’s work is crucial to improve the lives of women and girls across the state. The work they do affects 5,047,190 women in North Carolina. The legislation, education, and spaces they create affect 51% of the state.



As a girl in high school, I remember learning about things like the ERA, and the 19th amendment. I found it interesting that women seem to always be considered as an exception.



Men were created equal, but not women.

Legislatively speaking, I am still not equal to my male peers.

My rights are a political standpoint.

My bodily autonomy hangs in the balance of a politician getting voted out of office.



All of these things felt so personal, until I saw that number. 5,047,190. There are 5,047,190 people who’ve experienced all the same things I have and are under the same political and legislative barriers I am. When I think of eliminating all forms of discrimination against women, the idea seems so far removed. Even as a 16-year-old, the idea of protected gender equity feels so far away. Sitting in my high school classes, I am still presented with the gender inequity amongst my friends, peers, and teachers. I believe that the process is starting now. I can see the possibilities and the future for women’s rights in North Carolina. To learn more about the Cities for CEDAW movement and WomenNC’s roles in bringing it to North Carolina, visit: https://www.womennc.org/cities-for-cedaw.