Must the U.S. pass another International Women's Day (March 8) as the only industrialized country in the world that has not ratified the International Bill of Rights for Women? The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has been bogged down in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 17 years. Amnesty International is campaigning to get 75 Senators committed to ratification by March 8 (WFF 1/16). They will deliver letters from all over the country on that day, and publicize a list of Senators for and against. All of the women in the Senate support ratification of this treaty except Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). This is the last full week to call your Senator for support at 202-224-3121 -- and tell Senator Hutchison to get on board for women at 202-224-5922; fax 202-224-0776; e-mail [email protected]

Representatives Carolyn Maloney (R-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) are calling on colleagues in the House to sign on to a declaration against the oppressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Citing the Taliban's gender apartheid whereby women and girls are virtually imprisoned in their homes, the declaration calls for (1) witholding recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan's government, (2) insuring humanitarian aid is available for Afghan women, and (3) applying pressure to insure the rights of Afghan women. Maloney and Rohrabacher are asking for signatures on the declaration, to be presented to Congress on March 8. Next week is the last chance for your Representative to sign on the dotted line. Urge Reps. (202-225-3121 or send e-mail) to sign on-by calling Maggie McDow in Representative Maloney's office at 202-225-7944.

CONSERVATIVES UNCLEAR ON THE CONCEPT

We all know conservatives want to eliminate abortion, and they don't want teenage pregnancy. In a stunning display of their powers of deductive reasoning, they authored a couple of bills to accomplish their goals this week. Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL; 202-225-5676; fax 202-225-3930) introduced HR 3230, requiring written parental notification for a minor to get birth control from family planning clinics receiving federal money. And Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) is expected to use women for pawns , by attaching a "global gag rule" on international family planning groups to a rescue of the International Monetary Fund. This bailout of the IMF (which is depleted by loans to Asian countries in financial crisis) is wanted badly by the Administration and big-wigs on Wall Street. A vote is scheduled for next week. No matter how you feel about global monetary shenanigans, tell your member of Congress (202-225-3121 or send e-mail) and Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin (fax 202-622-0073) not to sacrifice women for the global bottom line.

...radio, or in the streets for Fair Pay. Equal Pay Day (the day in '98 when women finally reach the earnings men made by Dec. 31, '97) is April 3. Grass roots organizations in 45 states will hold local actions to call attention to the pay gap and what can be done about it. If your group wants in on the action, organizing kits with buttons, background materials, and suggestions for staging local events are available from the National Committee on Pay Equity 202-331-7343; fax 202-331-7406, if you call by March 2.

Congress is so distracted with Monica and Saddam shows (neither good for women) that work on the Hill is in slow motion. But conservatives are warming up for a fight over President Clinton's child care initiative, which raises the percentage of child and dependent care expenses families can claim as a tax deduction. They've come up with their own version of child-care relief: Women should stay home where they belong. In a recent press blitz, Senator Dan Coates (R-IND; fax 202-224-4725 ; e-mail) questioned whether women should work outside the home, and Senator Larry Craig (R-ID; fax 202-224-2573; e-mail) is trying to start a "mommy war," by emphasizing tax credits for moms who stay home. (Hey, weren't we told by these same guys during the welfare debate that subsidizing a woman to stay home and care for her kids is immoral?) In any case, we're sure to hear a lot more anti-woman rhetoric before anything passes on Capitol Hill. Get the factsheet on the tax credit peice of the President's child care initiative from the National Women's Law Center at 202-588-5180; fax 202-588-5185. And beginning Monday, tune into Lifetime TV to see public service announcements calling attention to the need for child care. Register your support for Lifetime's initiative at www.lifetimetv.com

Our first 1998 Brendan Sullivan Potted Palm award goes to ABC, CBS, and NBC news divisions. For the first time in a decade, the top tier of nightly news correspondents is 100% male (NBC's Lisa Myers ranked 12th, CBS's Diana Olick was 15th, and Rita Braver was 17th in on-air visibility). In addition to shutting women out of the top ten for the first time since 1988, all three networks changed White House correspondents, and filled every opening with a male. Aim your slings and arrows at: NBC (Dave Doss) 212-664-4444; fax 212-664-6044; ABC (Paul Friedman) 212-456-777; fax 212-456-2795; CBS 212-975-3691; 212-975-1893. * For newcomers to WFF, Brendan Sullivan was Ollie North's attorney during Contragate. At one point in the Congressional hearing, he felt so ignored that he jumped up and yelled "What am I, a potted palm?" Our award is for those who do the most to make women invisible.

Valentine's Day is also the date for V-Day 1998, a celebrity-studded New York benefit performance and global awareness campaign about violence against women. FEMINIST.COM has launched a website with round-the-clock and up-to-the-minute information on the benefit and about violence against women. Learn how you can be a co-sponsor, or e-mail action alerts to the White House and Congress directly from the site (www.feminist.com/vday). Money raised from V-Day goes to grass roots organizations to help stop violence against women and girls via the V-Day Fund, administered by the Ms. Foundation. General info for the unwired: 212-414-1458.

The Business and Professional Women's Foundation is co-sponsoring a conference entitled "Work and Family: Today's Realities and Tomorrow's Visions," November 6-7 in Boston. Conference info or Call for Papers: Mary O'Neill; 202-293-1100 ext. 182. Deadline for paper submissions is February 28.