 "Photo: courtesy of Pete Souza/www.whitehouse.gov")
President Obama has been up to a lot more than just attempting to reform our nation’s health care system. Since January 2009, a profound movement has been gaining momentum and continues to pick up speed with each passing day. Our president is at the head of this faction. In fact, since his very first week in office he has been working on improvement and empowerment for women not only in the U.S., but also abroad.
Within Obama’s first week in office, he rid the U.S. of the Global Gag Rule, which had previously been reinstated by George W. Bush. This rule prohibited the U.S. from sending family planning assistance to foreign Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), who performed abortions not related to incest or rape. This suppressed free speech and spread of awareness regarding abortion related issues. In lifting this rule, NGOs may now seek out U.S. assistance to provide more inclusive health services abroad.
The first bill that Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include a law against pay discrimination, especially against women. Within his first few days in office, Obama stepped up to proclaim a new voice for women and an excellent beginning to his term.
In March 2009 Obama’s next move was to create the White House Counsel on Women and Girls. It is essential to understand the pertinence this has and the volumes it speaks about the advancements currently being made. This counsel has worked and will continue to work to ensure that the particular needs of women and girls are met and that all existing programs are enhanced. Obama said, during his campaign, “I think we need to take a hard look at where we're falling short, and who we're leaving out, and what that means for the prosperity and the vitality of our nation." In establishing this counsel, Obama exemplified his belief that by concentrating more on the further advancement of women and children, we will essentially be developing our nation. This sentiment gives hope to not only women domestically in the U.S., but also to women abroad. This is a bold mission and extremely inspirational on both a national and international level.
One of the biggest changes in Washington happened in June 2009 when Lynn Rosenthal was named the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. The creation of this position reopens a focus on domestic violence issues and will place a heightened pressure on government agencies to ensure that they are not ignored. Rosenthal’s job will consist of enforcing these changes and she will be the voice of advocacy on a governmental level. In the formal announcement of Rosenthal’s new position, Vice President Biden remarked, “I think the first thing we got to do is just put this back in play, just get it up on the agenda. Get every secretary in the Cabinet thinking about it." There is undoubted passion behind this movement and hopefully with this enthusiasm, substantial changes can be made.
Obama is also continuing to push the Department of Justice to implement the United Nations’ Convention of Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) treaty. This is the world’s most complete international agreement on women’s rights. Without having ratified this treaty it makes the job of advocates and the reputation of the United States in general, much more difficult when dealing with women’s issues.
There has been controversy in Washington regarding these issues. It is often overlooked as attention is frequently shifted to matters of war and healthcare. It is important to shed light upon the progress that has been taking place under the Obama administration. This initiative in the name of women and children is to be commended as it impacts all Americans.
President Obama and his administration have built a substantial structure to women’s suffrage. The steps that have been made to improve lives of women and children all over the world may seem to be relatively minute in comparison to the extent of the problem in itself, but it is certainly a shift in the right direction for the U.S. and the rest of the world.
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