Greeting from Southern California, I cannot believe we are entering July and uncovering the veil of a new normal after fifteen months. It was a period of many challenges including but not limited to the concerns for the health of family and friends, those who lost their jobs during the hard-hit months of 2020-21, unpredictability, and an overload of virtual meetings in “Zoom land.” It was an intense physical and emotional period of our lives. Now, we seek to re-energize ourselves as we push forward, leaving the last fifteen months in the rearview mirror!
As the new president of WIN, elected in January 2021, I would like to share my thoughts, hopes, inspiration, and a bit of my history with WIN. First and foremost, I am honored and excited to work with the current board of WIN. The harmony, commitment, and synergy of the board makes me believe that together we will make change possible, connect women and girls across cultures and assure that all women and girl’s voices are heard in public forums for full participation in their governments, societies, and economies.
My history with WIN commenced when I attended the Beijing Women Conference, much awaited for a decade as I missed the third International Women Conference in Nairobi due to illness of a loved one. On our long flight from San Francisco to Shanghai, China, along with more than seventy other women and girls from the Bay Area of California, I met Marilyn Fowler, the founder of WIN. After the Beijing Women Conference, Marylin and I stayed in touch. As an active member of WIN, located in southern California, I was an advocate for “Bringing Beijing Home.” Through this initiative, I shared the lessons learned and my experiences not only at various campuses of California State University but also with ESL classes in downtown LA. Along with community activism, I taught in the Women Studies Programs of CSU, two of my beloved courses, “Global Women’s Movement” and “Women in Cross-Cultural Perspectives.” With my students, in these courses, we examined, reflected upon, and unpacked UN Women’s Conferences, “The Beijing Platform for Action,” and “Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies.”
As Chair and President of the Commission on the Status of Women at California State University Long Beach, and WIN board member, I presented at the majority of the CSW NGO forums since 1995 along with other regional conferences including the first (1998) post-Beijing Latin America conference in Cuba. Being an active part of WIN during conversations about : 1)establishing “Circles”, the “ Cities for CEDAW ” national campaign; 2) hosting Uganda delegation, being part of the WIN grassroots delegation to Afghanistan; 3) working closing with Afghan Women Network to select a delegation from Afghanistan women to visit California; and 4) having an all-day event, hosting the delegation from Afghanistan by (RIP) President Gordon of California State University Fullerton. These are but a few of many other memories weaved into my life during the last 26 years, which makes WIN an important part of my life and identity.
As a women’s human rights advocate, CEDAW, The Bill of Rights of Women and Girls was important to me even before my path crossed WIN. I learned about CEDAW in 1984 as a result of an introduction to (RIP) Billi Heller, the founding member and chair of the national committee on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. So, clearly, when the Cities for CEDAW campaign was coined by the collaboration of the SF Commission on the Status of Women and WIN in 2013 at one of the informal gatherings of CSW, it was dear and near to my heart.
So here we are, in June of 2021, I am honored to serve an organization that I have been serving in different capacities in the last 26 years, I am committed to do what is needed to unmask the talents, commitments to gender equality, justice, and the creativity of the global network of WIN to make a meaningful, positive, impactful difference for women and girls.
Now is the time that with collaboration and coalition-building we join efforts to ratify CEDAW locally and at the national level and ensure that the rights and dignity of every woman and girl are honored and protected. As the past chair of Global Circles of WIN, the goal of reinvigorating the circles of WIN and forming new circles is still at the heart of WIN.
My goal with the post-pandemic of WIN is to continue to offer quality and diverse programming that helps the interest and needs of our members and WIN community. The quarterly newsletter will keep the community of WIN informed of the latest events and updates about our community organizing and CEDAW efforts at local, national, and global levels. As a mediator, I also value collaboration and coalition building amongst civil society entities that are striving to accomplish gender equality and justice, locally and globally.
Nancy Bremeau, Commissioner, Santa Clara County & Founder, The CEDAW Challenge
The CEDAW Challenge [1] was launched in November 2021 by the CEDAW Challenge TEAM and Santa Clara County Board Supervisor, Susan Ellenberg. [2] It was designed as a reboot of the original CEDAW Challenge issued by the late San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee which wasissued at the 2015 U.S. Conference of Mayors. The purpose of the new CEDAW Challenge is to invite elected and appointed officials and members of affiliated organizations across the country to join in the effort of passing CEDAW Resolutions and Adopting Ordinances. The Challenge signatories include California State Controller, Malia Cohen [3], and California State Senator and Chair of the Women’s Legislative Caucus, Nancy Skinner [4] among many others. You can sign the challenge with your own affiliation (LWV, AAUW, ZONTA, UNA, SOROPTIMISTS, NWPC, NOW, NARAL etc), and help byforwarding the link to the Challenge to your own elected and appointed officials and ask them to sign the Challenge today!! For questions, please contact the CEDAW Challenge Founder, and Cities for CEDAW National Advisory Board Member Nancy Bremeau [5] at nancy@bremeau.net. Please click on the link to sign, see excerpt from the Challenge below.
The CEDAW Challenge
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Vice-President, Susan Ellenberg, together with the CEDAW Challenge TEAM, announced the CEDAW Challenge on November 29, 2021 at the California StateAssociation of Cities (CSAC) and December 1 at the Urban Counties of California (UCC). (See video below). We call on our elected and appointed officials across the state and the nation to sign on with the intention of supporting CEDAW resolutions and adopting CEDAW ordinances within their local city and county jurisdictions; and in support of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty known as CEDAW by the United States of America.
This Challenge calls on all elected officials to support and endeavour to pass resolutions and/or adopt ordinances to bring the spirit of, and; codify the principles of CEDAW, (also known as the Women’s Bill of Rights) to ensure the rights of women and girls and all who identify as women, in their local jurisdictions. Within each County or City we call on the Commissions for Women (also known as Commissions on the Status of Women and Girls, Women’s Advisory Boards, etc), to work towards the adoption of CEDAW ordinances, and implementation of such ordinances, in conjunction with their local jurisdictions and elected officials. We recognize the importance of these commissions in protecting and advocating for the rights of women and girls and all who identify as women.
Adherence to the principles of CEDAW throughout local jurisdictions will promote equal access to and equity in all areas including, but not limited to: health care, employment, economic development, affordable housing, educational and leadership opportunities, public safety, and criminal justice for women, girls and all who identify as women; and will also address the continuing and critical problems of violence against women and girls and all who identify as women. There is a need to analyze the operations of local government policies, programs and services to identify discrimination in, but not limited to, employment practices, budget allocation and the provision of direct and indirect services and, if identified, to remedy that discrimination. In addition, this work will also serve to enhance and promote the principles of CEDAW throughout the private sector.
Background
Local implementation – Throughout the United States, cities and counties have strengthened their commitment to women’s equality by passing resolutions and, specifically, adopting ordinances affirming the principles and spirit of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), also known as the Women’s Bill of Rights, which integrates gender equity and human rights principles found in CEDAW into City and County operations: National Ratification – Countries that ratify CEDAW are mandated to condemn all forms of discrimination against women and girls and to ensure equality for women and girls in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural arenas. The United Nations General Assembly adopted CEDAW in 1979 and President Carter signed the treaty on behalf of the United States in 1980, but the United States Senate has not yet ratified CEDAW. The United States remains one of only six countries that have not yet ratified CEDAW (Iran, Paulau, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga, and the United States of America).
Mary Steiner, Co-Founder, Ratify Movement, Former President and now Ex Officio Director, United Nations Association, USA, San Francisco (UNA SF) We women determined to achieve freedom from discrimination collaborate monthly on the Ratify Movement Monthly Meeting platform provided by the United Nations Association, USA, San Francisco (UNA SF). On the third Thursday of each month at midday Pacific Time, we include colleagues in progress reports as well as feature a leader and networking. Individuals from organizations are featured, such as the Cities for CEDAW, UNA USA Women’s Affinity Group, SFCAHT, NCJW, International Alliance of Women, Amnesty International, NOW, International Alliance of Women, League of Women Voters, International Youth Conference, Zonta, National Association of Social Workers, CA Technology Section, as well as various Status of Women Commissions. After nearly three years of meeting, powerful partnerships have been formed and the City of Washington, D.C., as well as the California Counties of Santa Clara and San Diego have adopted ordinances with the principles of CEDAW. Fairfax, Virginia adopted a CEDAW Resolution. Their next steps are the implementation and enforcement of CEDAW. They seek data about what women need. Financing the staffing and secure digitization of data is a current interest for the Ratify Movement.. Panels of experts have been sponsored in the UN CSW NGO Parallel Forum during Women’s Month since 2021. Women Technologists, Women in Data Science, and Girls in STEM Education have been recurring themes. Since the City and County of San Francisco adopted an ordinance based on CEDAW principles in 1998, it can be a case study for lessons learned. It was the first city in the world to not only institutionalize CEDAW and establish a Status of Women Department, but also utilize the legal structure to reduce domestic violence and human trafficking. Family leave, child care, and equal pay remain a challenge, but civil society organizations such as the NCJW and SFCAHT have expanded services for the prevention, detection, and protection of survivors of human trafficking. Collaboration with government, non profits, and survivors is building consensus about the care and collection of data. Other CEDAW Nations are included in discussions about best practices. International experts including the UN CEDAW Committee and UN Women have been consulted. In the U.S. the Senate has stalled the ratification of CEDAW after it was signed by President Jimmy Carter, American women have yet to have their rights to appropriate health care, decent work place, and equal access to education manifested. It is a non partisan effort. For example, President Richard Nixon proposed CEDAW. The status of the U.S. as a developed nation compared to all other UN Member Nations, developed and undeveloped is a growing concern. Americans are not content to keep company with remaining non-ratifying Member Nations, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga. Let us raise up our status as a human rights leader and ratify CEDAW.
This interview was done by Elahe Amani and with special thanks to Gail James for transcription
Krishanti Dharmaraj is a human rights advocate and a practitioner dedicated to realizing safety, equity, and wellbeing within communities, institutions, cities and the wider world. As the founding executive director of Women’s Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights, Ms. Dharmaraj co-founded the US Human Rights Network to ensure US government’s accountability to human rights standards within US borders; and with her leadership, San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to pass legislation implementing an international human rights treaty. As a result of passing CEDAW in San Francisco, the city implemented a gender analysis in departments that impacted employment, programming and service delivery, and resource allocation. Currently, this public policy strategy is being implemented in cities across the United States.
Elahe Amani : Dear Krishanti, 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of the Cities for CEDAW campaign. With your dedicated leadership, San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to pass legislation implementing an international human rights treaty and Women’s Intercultural Network was the founding civil society partner. As a result of passing CEDAW in San Francisco, the city implemented a gender analysis in departments that impacted employment, programming and service delivery, and resource allocation. What inspired you to embark on this journey? Is the Campaign where you had hoped would be a decade later? If not, why?
First of all, I want to thank you and WIN for doing this work. I want to separate the trajectories:
The passing and implementation of CEDAW, to make human rights, specifically women’s human rights, relevant within the US, post-Beijing. It began in 1996 with a human right training we organized in San Francisco. The ordinance on CEDAW was a very bold move for us. I want to recognize Patti Chang, Women’s Foundation and Cossette Thompson, Amnesty International, because we could not have succeeded if we didn’t work collectively and supported one another to move forward the strategy to implement CEDAW at the local level. Within 10 years, we were able to witness the impact of CEDAW that contributed positively to the lives of women and girls in San Francisco.
For the 10 years of Cities for CEDAW: I should not get credit for it. Soon-Young Yoon, then of NGOCSW, brought her vision; she liked what we had done in San Francisco, even though at present, San Francisco is not keeping up implementation of the ordinance. The consistent way in which CEDAW was implemented has not happened in any other city. Cities for CEDAW was a brilliant idea. Soon-Young was engaged with NGO CSW; she asked CSW to engage; they chose to work with Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN), and rightfully so. While Cities for CEDAW relies on the work I began, it has a life of its own. I want to credit to those who came together 10 years ago, specifically, with the commitment and intention to expand Cities for CEDAW. While I didn’t conceptualize Cities for CEDAW, its beauty is close to my heart and I see its distinct characteristics.
Cities for CEDAW is set up to birth and grow; it doesn’t have a specific template. When the ground is right, when there are women on the ground ready to ignite, they engage in entering CEDAW for its implementation at different points. Currently there are pros & cons on how we are implementing CEDAW. The biggest drawback is the lack of understanding and implementation of the human rights framework. We live in a country where human rights are not culturally accepted. Therefore, US exceptionalism deprives Americans of the recognition that human rights are inalienable and fundamental to our way of being.
The reason the San Francisco model not been picked up as it was done is because it is hard to set up implementable policy with a budget. It can be considered a high-risk engagement. It becomes low-risk, depending on if it is set up to be implemented. Soon-Young Yoon gets credit for this multi-sector, multi-dimensional way Cities for CEDAW is set up to go beyond NGO’s. It is cross-sectored, which means different city governments, NGO’s, academics, private sector. These groups have different ways of engagement and diverse entry points to CEDAW. This keeps Cities for CEDAW relevant and fluid.
There are a couple of wins: It is vibrant, growing, and multi-dimensional. Also, at the same time, there are very tactical things that are being put in place: like reporting to the CEDAW Committee (Geneva), making sure it is part of NGO Commission on the Status of Women (NY). Then, it has a very strong horizontal and vertical approach, so therefore, it is going to sustain itself for much longer than just one organization doing one thing. Therefore, it is thriving in different spaces.
To me, the challenge is a reflection, not on Cities for CEDAW; it is a reflection of our country: To do human rights work in the US, to get people to recognize the relevance, even for people of color, even woman, it is much harder. Because when you think civil rights in the US, the perception is that it is about race or gender, but not together. Civil and political rights are one component of human rights, and most in the US don’t recognizes that. We still need to do much more work around human rights, because unless the ground really gets human rights, and its added value, the majority of the little fights we are reacting to, will exhaust us. If we use a human rights framework, it will help us go beyond single issues and single identity.
You are a visionary leader, a human rights advocate and a practitioner. How critical is to clarify definitions and using inclusive language for women and girls, including sex, gender, gender identity, and/or gender expression in crafting ordinances in the current political climate?
There are 2 things I’d like to speak to:
Language is power, so people in power define language, then we get to react to it. And there are moments In history when those in the margins have been able to claim language: “Human rights are women’s rights,” “Dalit rights are human rights,” and “no human is illegal.” So, that is power. But the narrative has been dominated by people in power. So it is very important to recognize different groups, different identities.
At the same time, I go back to human rights are about diversity, inclusion, belonging, accessibility and justice. That’s what human rights are about.So when you use human rights, I think it is inherent to understand that the definition of human rights is “constructing conditions in society for people to be fully human.” Therefore, those whose humanity is threatened must decide what it means to be fully human. Therefore, the language and framework allow us to speak to inclusivity.
Patriarchy wants us to fit into a box; we are pushing boundaries of that box.
We should not become hostages to that. I think it is important to unpack that gender includes women and men and non-binary persons; you cannot exclude humans. This is where again human rights comes into play, because it means enjoyment of our inherent right to dignity. Nobody can argue with the right to dignity of a human being. As a human, there is a fundamental space in which we hold our intersecting, multiple forms of identity.
Fighting language is a massive privilege, actually. So our job as advocates is to figure out how these most vulnerable groups are covered in the CEDAW ordinance you put forward. That is our obligation. If you can’t include those in the margins, we shouldn’t do it. It is a disservice to human rights. It is OK to not pass an ordinance, if it is not right. We cannot compromise human dignity. That is what we need to keep in mind. It is beyond language, It is about human dignity.
San Francisco CEDAW came under attack. It wasn’t easy. We had to really make a case. That is why ensuring a public hearing helps support that. The most important strategic solution is to be on the offensive, not the defensive.
You are the founder of the Dignity IndeX, a human rights measurement tool utilized to ensure equity and inclusion to reduce identity-based discrimination. A crucial aspect of identity-based discrimination against women and girls is racial identity. How vital is it to craft the language of the ordinances through an intersectional lens, recognizing the interconnected nature of gender, race, and other identities?
It is essential and is non-negotiable within CEDAW. Because race is always there. Race doesn’t mean black or people of color; race is a social construct. Ethnicity is our roots, it’s what connects us to place, what we consider tradition, culture, rituals, experiences.
Race is always present in CEDAW; when you don’t mention it, then the race presented is whiteness. That is why it is very important to equalize that space, to ensure to include the intersection of identity, recognize both privilege and oppression. Intersectionality is about multiple types of oppression based on identity.
Race and gender are two identities and can also be two types of oppressions that come together. But we are more than that. I created the Dignity Index to go beyond intersectionality, to go beyond identity, to recognize we can and do hold both privilege and oppression. Therefore is important to ensure we don’t engage in “othering,” other forms of oppression or create a hierarchy of oppression.
So, it is crucial that in CEDAW we recognize, at multiple intersections of identities, where we carry both privilege and oppression; we have responsibility, we are accountable to the privilege, and we seek justice for oppression. It is not one or the other, it is both. CEDAW speaks to just that.
Because CEDAW shows women are discriminated against because of our gender. It’s systemic and structural. To which we integrate diverse experiences: rural, war zone, disability, previously Incarcerated, indigenous etc.. These identities shape our lived experiences. CEDAW speaks to these multiple spaces through the General Recommendations added to CEDAW through the years. I want to bring up if we look to the future of CEDAW, if we are looking at the past and beyond, Cities for CEDAW will have to have other measurements, other treaties included.
Women’s labor is critical. So, we have to recognize why CEDAW talks about economics, about employment, it doesn’t specifically speak to labor. But women’s labor is included all the articles, because it looks to discriminate, because we are women. To really strengthen CEDAW at the local level, recognizing that women have both paid and unpaid, formal, and informal labor; jobs are connected, but it is not it. We have brought in labor, ideally the International Labor Organization Convention 190 – addressing violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work.
We cannot have gender equality if we don’t pay attention to recognizing and elevating the value of women’s labor. We as women are not recognized or valued for who we are. Discrimination is a result of this devaluation. This is why it is important to have women of color and those who understand intersectionality are in leadership when CEDAW is designed. Women in leadership must recognize that diverse women have diverse lived experiences. CEDAW speaks to the inherent dignity all women, regardless of identity. The passing of CEDAW at the local level must include this diversity.
Looking ahead, what innovations or changes do you envision to further align the Cities for CEDAW campaign with its goal of championing women’s rights?
What I would add is : not to forget Human Rights. We need to assert that human rights is non-negotiable, because dignity is non-negotiable. We must recognize that everyone has human rights. White supremacists have the same fundamental human rights, as you and I do. This is hard to digest, yet the recognition of one’s humanity allows us to sustain and deepen the work. We as a country are used to ‘ othering ’, making undocumented persons, the incarcerated, people of color, Muslims and women less than human. Yet, we must remember and embrace that we all are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Gail James, Coordinator, Cities for CEDAW Campaign & board member of Women’s Intercultural Network
The Cities for CEDAW Campaign was launched in 2014, at the NGO Commission on the Status of Women Forum 58 at the United Nations, through the coalition of the Women’s Intercultural Network, the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the NGOCSW/NY as founding partners. It encouraged local US jurisdictions to examine public policies with Resolutions and Ordinances focused on taking on discrimination city by city, in accordance with the UN CEDAW Treaty, (Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), not yet signed by the United States. In 2015, the U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a CEDAW Resolution. To date, over 80 cities have agreed to establish gender studies to identify inequities, to provide for oversight bodies and to create the measurement mechanisms that promote essential compliance. There is growing consensus that “CEDAW is the roadmap for gender equality in city government.”
Since then, numerous cities and several counties and states have signed on to the principles of CEDAW by developing coalitions, reports and gender analyses outlining equity policies. They ensure that Resolutions and Ordinances speak to the equity, safety and well-being of women and girls in our communities.
In recent years, numerous jurisdictions in all sections of the country have engaged with local stakeholders to advance the critical and timely work of CEDAW. Local governments strive to create effective intersectional policies to advance local economies and build sustainable cities and counties. Government officials, community leaders and stakeholders increasingly recognize CEDAW as a powerful tool. As localities work to advance equity, a local equity ordinance can provides a solid framework to ensure policies and programs are inclusive. The vitality of the CEDAW Campaign is a strong testament to the relevance of the framework to connect human rights and public policy at the local level.
The Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN) serves as co-architect and coordinator for the Cities for CEDAW initiative, reporting to the UN community at CSW yearly and to the CEDAW Committee in Geneva quadrennially. WIN’s commitment to Cities for CEDAW and its growing network signals the importance of its work and the urgent need for collaborative action for equity.
Soon-Young Yoon is a Korean-American advocate for women’s human rights and author of “Citizen of the World — Soon-Young and the UN”. She currently serves as a United Nations representative of the International Alliance of Women. In 2020, she founded the Cities for CEDAW History and Futures Project of which she is currently co-director.She is the main representative of the International Alliance of Women to the United Nations ECOSOC. In that capacity she was Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York from 2011 to 2015 during which the committee launched the Cities for CEDAW campaign. In 2014, she received the CEDAW award for International Comity from the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women in San Francisco.
As a champion of the Cities for CEDAW campaign over the past decade, how do you suggest ensuring the Cities For CEDAW ( C4C ) continued relevance and adaptability in the face of shifting political landscapes?
The media, public education and movement building as the most important phase of passing an ordinance. To ensure sustainable, effective implementation, building consensus through community consciousness-raising is critical. Feminist and women leaders are most successful if they use the campaign to build strong coalitions around activities such as school programs, youth education, media campaigns and outreach to city officials. Activists used petitions, briefings for mayors, as well as demonstrations and marches.
For example, in Boulder County, Colorado Business and Professional Women of Colorado in partnership with United Nations Association-USA of Boulder County met with city council members in Lafayette, Louisville and Boulder to obtain Resolutions. CEDAW T-shirts were created and handed out to stakeholders and Mayors. The Midwest Coalition 4 CEDAW developed a PowerPoint “CEDAW 101” that was used for community education at the public library and for women’s organizations in Kansas City, Laurence, Lee’s Summit and other regional cities. In Washington DC, the coalition worked for more than two years; UNA/DC held public hearings, reached out to media, and held briefings and meetings with local officials. Fairfax county Special Interest Group published a CEDAW guide, addressing local opposition to passing a county resolution. The same group wrote and performed a Trilogy on CEDAW presented virtually during the CSW NGO Forum.
Besides this, we must work with men because they are the majority of mayors and city council representatives. What is interesting is that in the campaign so far, most city councils that passed CEDAW (or EDAW) had a male majority.
Counties and States can also use levers to change the political culture and set new social norms for cities in their jurisdictions. We have nearly 22 counties in the campaigns, with all counties in Hawaii. Let’s see what Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties will achieve—I think we can expect a lot.
What notable milestone or achievement stands out to you as a testament to progress in advancing the C4C campaign?
We can cite progress in statistical numbers, but I think the rise in leadership and political will for the campaign is an outstanding result. We see diverse leadership initiatives that make a difference. For example, in 2015, mayor Eric Garcetti in Los Angeles issued an executive directive on gender equity which called on every City Department to help Los Angeles fulfill its responsibilities under the CEDAW ordinance. The city now includes a Gender Equity Liaison from every City Department and heads must prepare a Gender Equity Action Plan. Public events organized by the Los Angeles mayor’s office such as the Youth Women’s Assembly and LAFD (firefighters) camp for girls further highlighted the importance of leadership at the very top using the mayor’s convening power. Similarly, when mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz of Toledo commemorated the CEDAW ordinance, he welcomed a newly founded Women’s Business Council, drawing attention to the importance of CEDAW to women’s businesses and economic growth. In cities like Washington DC and Durham, male heads of city council (see figure above) led the way to champion CEDAW, sometimes in the face of strong opposition.
We also have many more tools like the LA county Gender Impact Assessment guide that is going to help newcomers to the campaign. One of the best examples of using ordinances to guarantee funding is found in the Washington DC ordinance which requires the DC government to conduct a gender analysis every four years, ensure training on gender equity and human rights and a citywide action plan to eliminate discrimination against women. Under the Mayor ‘s Office of Women’s Policy and Initiatives, the CEDAW (called EDAW in DC) ordinance will be monitored in its 80 plus agencies so that resources are allocated throughout departments.
San Francisco has one of the few women’s departments in the country that can raise its own funds. It has raised millions of dollars, focusing on violence against women and trafficking. Moreover, the department has the mandate to require all city departments (as in Los Angeles) to use their resources towards citywide goals.
How can we collaborate with other entities to amplify the impact of C4C and tangibly promote women’s human rights and dignity?
I have lots of ideas on this issue:
Form Counties for CEDAW through peer leadership. LA county, for example, could help to network the other 9 counties currently engaged and help the CEDAW Challenge reach more through the county national association meetings.
Mobilize more legal expertise through peer leadership to network law schools and other university departments in support of CEDAW ordinances and resolutions. For example, Santa Clara Law school’s International Human Rights Clinic could reach out to other already engaged in the campaign such as Mount St Marys and Cincinnati Law schools.
Establish more “Friends of women’s commissions”, “Friends of the Department of Inclusion and Diversity” or other city or county-associated mechanisms where corporate and small business leaders can contribute financial support.
Expand the Cities for CEDAW campaign globally. City officials, women’s commissions, and feminist international NGOs can reach out to model cities in countries that have already ratified CEDAW (e.g. Vienna, Reykjavik and Bogota) to network with the Cities for CEDAW campaign to exchange global experiences and share training and toolkits.
Replicate CEDAW Youth from Miriam college, Philippines, in other schools, including in high schools to connect with the Secretary-General’s new Youth Office.
Promote the “CEDAW Challenge” in US cities, counties and states as the national association of counties meetings as well as at meetings at the UN such as the CSW, High Level Political Forum and regional preparatory meetings for the Summit of the Future.
Invite CEDAW experts to awards ceremonies, media events and other UN-related activities in the US that increases public awareness.
Looking ahead, what innovations or changes do you envision to further align the C4C campaign with its overarching goal of championing women’s rights?
The UN has a critical role to play in the Cities for CEDAW movement because of its historic responsibility as standard bearer for human rights and gender equality. We need to make the CSW a Council under the General Assembly to reestablish its authority and legitimacy. We also need to make CEDAW a standing agenda item at CSW and make sure it is seen as an accountability mechanism for all the SDGs. At the Summit of the Future, the UN must put forth bold reforms in the gender architecture at the UN, opening more spaces for local authorities, feminist and women’s movement leaders and youth groups to influence its outcome.
What happens at the global level affects grass-root campaigns and vice-versa. The Cities for CEDAW is like an innovation lab that can bring CEDAW to life in diverse settings in real time. As Runya and Sanders noted “…the practical interactions among policymakers and CEDAW activists that occur through these processes (localization of CEDAW) contribute to the vitality of CEDAW norms themselves, which are given life and meaning through practical enactment and social grounding”[1] If the US ratifies CEDAW, this campaign will have helped lay a foundation for rapid and sustainable change. Indeed, national governments are more likely to step up to the challenge when the values of global citizenship and human rights thrive in communities and the UN’s goals are pursued locally.
[1] Anne Sisson Runya and Rebecca Sanders, “Prospects for realizing international women’s rights law through local governance: the case of Cities for CEDAW, in Human Rights Review (2021), 22:303-325.
The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW ) which is also called the Bill of Rights for Women and Girls is an International convention that as of June of 2023, six countries Iran, US, Sudan, Somalia Palau & Tonga have not ratified it yet. Cities for CEDAW is a campaign to protect the rights of women and girls by passing ordinances establishing the principles of CEDAW in cities and towns across the United States. The campaign was launched at a meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2013 by the Women’s Intercultural Network ( WIN ) . Many Cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles have already passed an ordinance or resolution for CEDAW. The Iranian Circle of WIN ( ICWIN ) members embarked on passing CEDAW resolution at the City of Long Beach in 2014 and thanks to Nazanin Amani who worked closely with Suzie Price, City council member on March 1st 2016, The City Council of Long Beach adopted Resolution in support of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Members of the chapter of National Organization of Women ( NOW ) and American Association of University Women also supported and were present at the City Council of Long Beach when the resolution passed.
ICWIN members and other gender equality advocates of the City of Long Beach, at City Council – January 1, 2016
The experience in SF, LA, and other cities has proven that Women’s Commissions are the backbone of any ordinance on CEDAW. So the idea of establishing a women’s commission was formed. Elahe Amani, Chair of the Global Circles of WIN and resident of the City of Long Beach along with other gender equality advocates in Long Beach embarked on the journey to establish a Commission of Women. The collective efforts led by by Activist, author and speaker, Zoe Nicholson.
On January 10th 2022, the Memorandum of the City of Long Beach stated “ According to reports from the Office of Equity, among all full-time workers in Long Beach, White men earn nearly twice as much as Latina women1, and 63 percent of Black women heads of household are considered rent-burdened, compared to 52 percent of White women heads of household. A Commission on Women and Girls in Long Beach can serve as a space for specific education, outreach, and advocacy in our community for the advancement of women and girls in pursuit of the elimination of gender-based inequities. In addition to the California State Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG), there are 25 women’s commissions in cities and counties throughout California, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Marin, and San Joaquin Counties. Cities including San Francisco, Pasadena, Glendale, and others have also established Commissions to advise their city Councils on the needs and concerns of women of all ages, races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Women’s Commissions promote gender equity and the empowerment of women in their communities. In California and across the country, Women’s Commissions are utilized to gain an understanding of the issues affecting women and girls in their communities and work to uplift and advocate for these issues. These Commissions have led initiatives targeting issues affecting women and girls like domestic violence, poverty, pay equity, incarceration, and economic advancement. In municipalities with Women’s Commissions, they serve an important role in advocating for issues and leading policy priorities affecting women. Ultimately, Women’s Commissions listen and learn from their community and ensure local women’s experiences guide their policy choice. “
On July 18th, 2023 the Women’s Fair + ERA Centennial celebration was organized in the City of Long Beach. Members of ICWIN were actively present and tabling and the event was sponsored by the Women’s Intercultural Network ( WIN ). The first agenda on the City Council session on July 18th was establishing a Women and Girls Commission. After decades of advocacy, and seven years after adaptation of CEDAW Resolution, the City Council formally established a new Commission on Women and Girls and marked a historic moment for Long Beach. And to make it even more poignant, July 18, vote coincided with the 100th anniversary of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment being introduced to Congress for the first time. The idea of a women’s commission was first introduced by former Long Beach City Councilwoman Renee Simon — a longtime women’s rights advocate and just the second woman in the city’s history elected to the council. She attended the first UN women’s conference in Mexico City in 1975. She came back to Long Beach and asked her all-male colleagues to establish a women’s commission, but it was essentially dead on arrival. Forty eight years later, on July 18th, Renee Simon attended the City Council session that voted unanimously to establish the Women and Girls Commission. We all keep moving forward and never turning back!
Elahe & Renee Simon
ICWIN members and supporters at the Women’s Fair – Long Beach
Ruja Kia’s Perspective – WIN Women Equality Day, August 2023
“In democratic countries, the basic strategy for achieving equality has been the formation of strong movements consisting of women activists who collectively fight for equal rights.” But in religious authoritarian countries, this is not possible for women.
Some believe that in a “non-organizational and non-coherent activity” that maybe called a “new social movements” in Iran, women are using everyday resistance to challenge rules that attempt to control their lives and bodies since the first days of the government of the Islamic Republic inside Iran.
The past year in Iran we have witnessed residence in forms of protests in response to the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini, and the governmental crackdowns to control the oppositions has been, and continues to be strong.
The resistance to this oppression has also been strong. The pushback against the Iranian regime has not been limited to rallys in the streets, or to a specific demographic or geographic area.
In the following slides we will look over examples of actions and individuals have used daily activities as a for of resilience. The actions of women inside Iran are not limited to individuals named, but expand across entirety of the Iranian society, in streets and in homes. Expanding the public and the private spaces.
We have witnessed children as young as elementary school removing their scarves and chanting
Women, Life, Freedom
Mahroo Ahmadi
Her father Ahmad Reza Ahmadi recently passed. Against what is customary, she carried her father’s coffin on her shoulders as she walked without compulsory hijab.
Against attempts to stop her from speaking she stood behind the podium and spoke about her father:
“My father never ate the bread of politics, but he wrote the most political poems.”
Mahoor Ahmadi also revealed that her father was forced to retire from his position at the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.
Zeinab Zaman
An Iranian feminist who was arrested as she was tending to her ill father. Zeinab was one of the women who cut her hair in opposition to Jina’s murder. She attended her father’s funeral without compulsory hijab.
Sepideh Gholian
Iranian labor rights activist Sepideh Gholian was removed from a court during a public session of her trial because she refused to accept a judge’s order to wear a “chador,” a traditional full-body cloak that leaves only the face exposed.
The judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency said Gholian entered the court on July 19 with a “very small” piece of cloth on her head, which she later removed, prompting the judge to order her removal.
Romina Ashrafi ran away from home in Gilan province with her 35-year-old boyfriend after her father objected to their marriage, local media said.
The pair were found by police and Romina was sent home despite reportedly telling them she feared for her life.
She was attacked by her father in her bedroom and murdered.
In support of mothers who have lost their children flyers were dropped across town.
As we get closer to the anniversary of Jina’s murder in September, we have witnessed new crackdowns and arrest of women across fields, Social activists, Political activists, Civil activists, as well as Journalists, Lawyers, University professors and Influencers.
Just recently In a span of one day we witnessed the arrest of multiple women activists in Iran.
Yasamin Hashdary, Negin Rezaei, Jelveh Javaheri, Zahra Dardas and her sister Zohreh Dardas, Forough Sami Nia, Matin Yazdani were arrested this week.
Azerbaijan
The women environmental activists in the province of Azerbaijan, Iran have been working over the past 8 years to inform the public of the dangers to and the drying up of Lake Urmia in Iran.
Holding multiple protests and informational seminars as well as demonstrations.
Faranak Farid one of the leading activists was arrested and faced torture.
Negar Khiavi and Roghaye Kabiri writers and poets, became the “voice of this vast body of water that needed help to live.”
They have been called in to report themselves to governmental proceedings.
Celebrities
Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, two famous Iranian actresses, were arrested by authorities for expressing solidarity with protesters on social media.
Taraneh Alidoosti, was arrested after she urged people to speak out after the execution of a man involved in nationwide demonstrations.
Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram, faced legal action after they made public appearances without wearing the mandatory hijab.
Riahi, alongside actresses Golab Adineh and Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, appeared without a mandatory hijab, or head scarf, at a public funeral ceremony on April 18.
Pantea Bahram, has made several public appearances without a mandatory hijab, including at a screening of the last episode of the Iranian television series The Lion Skin at Tehran’s Lotus Cinema on April 19. Following the event, the director of the Lotus cinema was dismissed and the cinema was closed for two days.
Elahe Mohammadi
Elahe Mohammadi- a journalist arrested for her coverage of the news of Jina Mahsa Amini’s murder, read a statement during her closed court proceedings
Elahe Mohammadi emphasized: “I have had no connection with any foreign government and I am proud to have stayed with the people to be their voice.”
This imprisoned journalist criticized security pressures against journalists and said that instead of imprisoning journalists and leaving them undecided, government agencies in Iran should listen to people’s words.
She said: “Nilofar Hamedi and I are being tried as representatives of the suffering and honorable body of the Iranian press while the authority of the media has been transferred abroad due to the security encounters with honest and committed journalists, and these severe encounters with journalists have caused irritation. It has become people.
He said that government officials should listen to the voice of the people, especially the voice of women and their demands for their rights.
Elahe Mohammadi’s trial was held in private, against her request.
In prisons
Accordion to reports women have been arriving to their cells covered in bruises.
Despite all, we still see women prisoners resistance in forms of calls, poetry, call to action and show of solidarity as a form of continuation of the resistance to achieve a better world.
These were just a few examples of the daily resistance of women inside Iran. Due to the vast limitations women experience from the Islamic regime’s laws and regulations, Iranian women’s existence in itself can be an example of resistance to oppression.
There’s ample propaganda that purports the US as a beacon of hope, but we, the Black, the Brown, the poor, the female, the queer, the trans, the disabled, the immigrant, the indigenous, the most disenfranchised.. Know this is far from the truth. The US’s refusal to adequately address historical harms and ongoing systemic violence against oppressed populations is a showing of this country’s blood and shameful legacy and imperialistic existence.
In many ways, the landscape of abortion access post-Roe, in the US, is fairly identical to how it was with Roe. Black women and birthing people have seen the writing on the walls for years. We knew Roe was vulnerable, limiting, protection, and we in large were never afforded the ability to exercise our full bodily autonomy even UNDER Roe.
While Roe was the law of the land, the most marginalized among us, oftentimes Black women and birthing people, poor people, queer and trans people, were not able to access appropriate reproductive healthcare. And with no Roe they still can’t access appropriate reproductive healthcare.
On the federal level, classist legislation, like the Hyde Amendment, still prevents women and birthing people on Medicaid from receiving abortion care unless they want to pay out of pocket, which for many people is cost prohibitive.
While I underscore the impact of anti-abortion efforts, we’re also seeing massive state level push back since the fall of Roe that shows abortion access is, by and large, important to people and something that they want to maintain and have access to.
Last summer, Kansas citizens voted in a landslide to NOT change their state constitution to outlaw abortion, an outcome that, if you listen to forced birth legislators and activists, was never going to happen.
Just earlier this month, Ohio voted in a special election on Issue 1 which sought to raise the threshold for a constitutional amendment to pass from a basic majority of 50% to 60% SPECIFICALLY to undermine the attempts to have abortion access added as a right to the state constitution in November 2023.
Recently, in Pennsylvania, Governor Shapiro pulled back funding for a Crisis Pregnancy Center called Real Alternatives. The fact that pseudoscience-based clinics staffed by objectively fake doctors were receiving government funding is disheartening, removing their funding is the bare minimum.
As long as there are people fighting against the right to abortion access, there will be even more people fighting for it.
How does the rollback (and subsequent flurry of anti-rights legislation) disproportionately impact black women and LGBTQI people?
Existing at multiple intersections of oppression means you’re statistically more likely to experience interpersonal and systemic violence against you
Due to converging systems of oppression, Black women and birthing people are more likely to be on government assistance or medical plans, limiting their access to reproductive healthcare
Black women and birthing people are more likely to live in or near communities that do not have access to clean water or air or are routinely exposed to toxins, making them more likely to experience maternal and infant mortality, chronic illness, and birth defects.
Black women and birthing people are more likely to live in gerrymandered districts that are drawn specifically for their voices to be silenced and their voting power to be diminished.
Black trans men are less likely to seek out reproductive healthcare due to body dysmorphia and adequate transgender-informed reproductive planning and medical care, by and large, does not exist.
Our liberation cannot be legislated, we don’t look to elected officials to save us:
However, anti-rights legislation gives a “pass” to hateful, bigoted, racist and homophobic individuals who think that their behavior and actions and beliefs are inherently right or justified.
This leads to loss of life, as was the case with the recent murder of gay Black man, O’Shea Sibley in NYC who’s life was taken just for dancing in the street and presenting as openly queer.
Feminist and scholar, Audre Lorde, famously said that we do not live single issue lives, and we don’t. The sooner we all begin to realize that our neighbor’s struggle is our struggle, the closer we become to realizing a world where all of us can live with dignity and our basic needs met.
What does Reproductive Justice look like in the US context?
Reproductive Rights: Focuses on the legality of reproductive healthcare and ensures that all women and birthing individuals have access to the same care under the law
Reproductive Health: Focuses specifically on providing reproductive healthcare including abortion services, birth control, mammograms, pap smears, family counseling and more
Reproductive Justice: Focuses on all of the societal aspects that affect our reproductive health and autonomy including climate activism, gun violence, mass incarceration, maternal health, state-sanctioned violence, and more.
Reproductive Justice, as a movement, asks us to envision a world beyond just reinstating Roe or repairing the damage done over the last year. It asks us to fight for a society that provides holistic reproductive care to all birthing people in any way they need.
Reproductive Justice in the US context provides a human rights framework for us to understand all of the different ways white supremacy, imperialism, patriarchy, and capitalism wreak havoc on Black lives in particular.
Reproductive healthcare is connected to climate degradation, which is connected to the housing crisis, which is connected to toxic drinking water, which is connected to voter disenfranchisement etc.
There is power, strength, and necessity in us collectively understanding and working to combat the impacts of our shared, principled struggles.
Bio of BEULAH OSUEKE
She/Her/Hers
Beulah Osueke (she/her/hers) is the Strategic Operations Director of New Voices for Reproductive Justice, a Pennsylvania and Ohio-based social-change movement dedicated to the health and well-being of Black women, femmes, and girls. Beulah has an extensive background in community organizing, international network building, and organizational development with particular focus on utilizing a human-centered approach to maximize the genius of marginalized people(s). Beulah is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University with a Bachelor of Psychology and Sociology and earned her Master of Clinical Psychology from LaSalle University. Beulah is committed to working to ensure the complete wholeness of Black women and Black youth.
On behalf of Afghan women, I would like to express my thanks to Women Intercultural Network the organizer of the event for giving me this opportunity to be here with you for a few minutes. I would like to express my deepest thanks and warm greetings to all freedom loving and justice-seeking women movements, human rights organizations defenders and individuals who protested and sent declarations of solidarity in defense of the Afghan people, especially Afghan women.
Dear friends
Today I am happy to be among a group of heroes who are struggling for liberation and freedom of humanity from poverty, oppression and tyranny. I am also one of you. A woman who escaped from the land of blood and fire and now fights for the lost rights of women imprisoned in Afghanistan
Unfortunately, two years ago, the United States, NATO and their supporting countries handed over Afghanistan to a terrorist and dark-minded group for their political and military interests, a group who committed suicide and explosions in 20 years, and shed the blood of thousands of innocent people. A group that is as misogynist and fundamentalist as they don’t even accept the physical presence of women in society. In fact, the killers of the people were made the rulers of their destiny.
Today, situation in Afghanistan is worse than Medieval period, people are in the worst social, political and economic conditions.
Millions of people became refugee. According to United Nations official statistics in last two years about two million people have left Afghanistan and gone to different countries, especially Pakistan and Iran. Currently, about 9 million Afghans are immigrants around the world.
Twenty million people are unemployed, hungry, and facing poverty, 4 million young people addicted to drugs in two years.
16000 people have been imprisoned by the Taliban
1,400 of them are women.
500 hundred children, including seventy girls, are in Taliban prisons.
Official statistics of the Taliban Prisons Directorate.
Recently, 60,000 female hairdressers lost their jobs.
250 TV and radio stations have been closed, and 12,000 journalists have lost their jobs, of which 40% are women and girls. Official statistics of Reporters Without Borders.
The Taliban have turned hundreds of schools into religious schools and fired most of the teachers.
Afghanistan has become the center of suicide training and Islamic fundamentalism.
Suicides and psychological problems are heard in every corner of the country.
while on other hand Jihadi fundamentalist are recruiting soldiers from these poor people.
The past two years were difficult for the entire nation, but women and girls suffered the most. Women are treated like slaves. Women are deprived of their basic rights, which are work and education. Women are whipped in public, stoned to death, forced married to Taliban soldiers, they have been eliminated from all sectors of the community, and subjected to thousands of insults and humiliations every day.
the situation is critical and there is even a danger that Afghanistan will once again enter into a war between these terrorist groups that have the support of different countries, and the world is watching and has kept a deadly silence, and everyone’s attention is towards Ukraine’s war. If the situation continues in this way, unfortunately, it must be said that I do not see a good outlook/ prospect and we will witness even worse disasters.
We all know and have seen that when the Taliban take over, thousands of women walked to the streets and made their voice for justice, but unfortunately, these voices were cruelly suffocated and suppressed by the Taliban. We saw how the Taliban arrested a huge number of women activists and sent them to prison. These women were taken out of their houses by Taliban armed men at night. Some of these women were beaten and tortured and faced with ill-treatment and forced confessions. despite of all these pressures and tortures, women’s voice for justice has not been completely silenced and they have continued their struggle in different ways. What is clear is that no country has recognized the Taliban as a formal regime until now and the relations of this group are still severed with many countries of the world it is because of the protests and struggles of women.
Dear friends!
Afghan women are trapped between the chains of oppressions from different sides. They are deprived of right to raise their voices for their basic rights . They are under high pressure and persecution by the security and intelligence agencies of the Taliban. Lack of serious support from human rights and women’s rights organizations abroad. Insincerity and determination of the international community against the cruel actions of the Taliban towards the women. On other side they are facing poverty, insecurity, the other problem is the countries like America, Pakistan, Iran government, Qatar and some other countries that played a role in bringing this group to power are still trying to give formal recognition to the Taliban. All these have made it difficult for women to fight and seek justice.
Demands of the Afghan women
1-Non-recognition of the Taliban:
The main and fundamental demand of the women’s justice movement is that the Taliban should not be recognized at any cost otherwise the people will continue to be under the rule of ignorance for years.
2- Impose more pressure on Taliban:
Global pressure should be increased on the Taliban so that this group stop cruelty and barbarism against women. To remove their restrictions on women. Our women and young girls should not be flogged on the roads, put in jail, or humiliated and insulted. In this regard, it is the responsibility of all human rights organizations and institutions that defend women’s rights in the world to put pressure on their governments to stop supporting the Taliban group in Afghanistan. This is the biggest help that the world can do for the support of women in Afghanistan.
3- Due to the worse conditions and strict laws of the Taliban, a large number of girls and women in Kabul and some provinces have adopted a secret life and are thinking of leaving the country. Some protesting women even left the country. Now there is a need for support of international political activists, Women Movements and human rights and civil activists to raise their voice for the imprisoned women in Afghanistan. They are in need of women defenders to help them and guide them how to plan their struggles against this terrorist group.
4-There should be no financial assistance provide to the Taliban. The United Nations should explain why it give forty million dollars to the Taliban every week? Who give this money and why will this money be provided to the Taliban?
Don’t you think that this money is helping the Taliban to restore their power? Don’t you think this is a big obstacle to democratic programs and human rights and women’s rights? They are empowering the Taliban to flog more women? Imprison more women at home? Depriving girls from school and finally turning Afghanistan into a center of international terrorism so that none of the countries in Europe and other regions in the world will be safe and secure?
In his latest interview with Afghanistan International, Zalmay Khalilzad US special Representative for Afghanistan for Reconciliation from Sep2018 to october2021 said that America supports the Taliban and that this group is for the benefit of America’s interests in the region and acts against ISIS. I want the American people, Human right and women’s right organization to ask Joe Biden and Donald Trump for signing a peace agreement with the Taliban and surrendering Afghanistan to a terrorist group, and ask them how a killers group can bring peace and democracy to a country?
Why does the US government compromise with international terrorists for its interests?
I asked the women Activists around the world not to forget their sisters in Afghanistan. They should raise their voices for saving human rights in particular women ‘s rights in Afghanistan. Afghan women need your solidarity and sympathy.
Hoping for a world free from inequality and discrimination and The success of women’s justice movements around the world.
Thanks
Bio of Latifa Ahmady
Latifa Ahmady was born in Afghanistan and completed her primary and secondary education in Iran and Pakistan. She got her Bachelor Degree from Kabul Educational University- faculty of English Literature and Master Degree from Avicenna University- Kabul -Afghanistan. She dedicated her life to empower women to break the chains of oppressions, discrimination, and violence against women. She as a representative of Afghan women participated in different European and Asian International women gathering for revealing real condition of Afghan women. She has been
• Women activist since being 14 years.
• Former Executive Director of Organization for Promoting Afghan Women Capabilities (OPAWC)
• Present Director of an Afghan local organization Enter to Bright Future Organization (EBFO)
• Current executive board member of Women Intercultural Network (WIN)
• Current board member in an Afghan local organization: Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan (HAWCA)
• Current board member of a NETWORK in Sweden (Action in Umea for Afghanistan).
Because she was an activist for Human’s Right and women’s rights and had open activities against the wrong policies of the government and fundamentalist groups, the conditions for living inside Afghanistan became difficult for her. Like other women’s rights and human rights activists, she constantly threatened by unknown forces and fundamentalist war lord groups. Therefor she left Afghanistan with her family on Dec 2020.
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