Women's Rights Take Action Guide and Resource List

If you have 10 minutes…

• Learn the Facts. Read our fact sheet on the Rights of Women and then test your knowledge with our short quiz at http://discoverhumanrights.org/Rights_of_Women.html.
• Get the News. Receive news and action information from these women’s rights organizations.
  • Amnesty International www.amnestyusa.org/violence-against-women
  • Women’s Media Center www.womensmediacenter.com/  
  • StopVAW newsletter www.stopvaw.org/The_VAW_Monitor.html
• Send an E-mail. Send a pre-written email to your senators supporting important women’s rights issues. The ACLU maintains an Action Center with alerts on current issues: http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AP_alerts_womens_rts  
• Donate. Find an organization advocating for women’s rights - check out our national resource list.

If you have a few hours…

• Watch a Film. Watch a women’s rights film such as PBS’s “Not for Ourselves Alone” or “Iron Jawed Angles” about women’s suffrage in the U.S. and where women’s rights stand today.
• Write a Letter. Research and write a personal letter to your federal representative urging ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Visit www.womenstreaty.org/actionkit.pdf for background information on the treaty and ideas for letters. To find your federal representative, visit: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml  
• Take part in a V-day event! Every year on February 14, organizations nation-wide hold events to help combat violence against women. For more information, visit: www.vday.org.
• Educate. Download our PowerPoint presentation or lesson plans and use them to educate your school, community organization or faith community about women’s rights.

If you have a month…

• Start a Book Club.  Gather a goup of friends and/or colleagues to learn about and discuss women’s rights issues. Suggested reading:
  • A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft
  • Boundaries of Her Body: A Troubling History of Women’s Rights in America by Debran Rowland
  • Women’s Rights in the USA: Policy Debates and Gender Roles by Dorothy McBride-Stetson.
• Host a Film Screening.  Invite members of your community to watch a film about women’s rights. Check out Women Make Movies for suggestions: www.wmm.com/. 
• Invite a Speaker.   Invite a local women’s rights advocate to give a presentation to your school, community center or faith community. Potential speakers to invite include: an advocate for battered women, a female politician, or a woman in a leadership position in business or the community.

If you have a year or more…

• Volunteer with a Local Shelter or Domestic Violence Group. The National Network to End Domestic Violence has a list of domestic violence coalitions throughout the U.S.: http://nnedv.org/resources/coalitions.html.
• Help Girls Exercise Their Rights.  Help girls understand, value, and assert their basic rights. Participate in the "Girls Rights Campaign" by Girls Inc. For more information and resources on ways to help girls develop a strong and positive self-identity, visit www.girlsinc.org/takeaction/girls-rights-campaign.html.
• Run for Office. Women need to be represented so they can bring attention to the issues affecting them and their families. As the number of women in a legislative body increases, so too does the time spent on family issues, like child care, education and health care. Find information about running for office at www.thewhitehouseproject.org/.