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NEW YORK CITY — A group of women from Utah just returned from lobbying at the United Nations in New York City. Their goal — to make sure enough loud voices supporting motherhood were heard.
Carolina Allen founded the international, interfaith organization Big Ocean Women after attending this U.N. Conference last year.
"I consider myself a maternal feminist and that means I am expanding my sphere of influence starting from myself to my home, my community and then reaching the world," explained Allen.
Frustrated by agendas she viewed as anti-family, she started her own grassroots movement of mothers. She returned this year with 30 women from four different states.
"I've learned so much about women's issues all across the world," said Ali Lund.
"I think I am surprised that they see me as evil," said Carole Rice.
The women were shocked by the number of attendees who did not view the family as the basic unit of society.
"There are people who are literally opposed, not just won't do things in favor of, but are literally opposed to that as a structure of society," Rice said.
Big Ocean Women joined other groups lobbying for the family to be included in the U.N.'s Post-2015 Agenda. That agenda includes goals like improving education, eradicating poverty and creating better health care... but no mention of strengthening families.
"We see a strong family above all as a strong agent of development," said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. He says the family needs more protection.
The family should be strengthened, consolidated, protected and defended according to our international treaties and above all according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
–Archbishop Bernardito Auza
"The family should be strengthened, consolidated, protected and defended according to our international treaties and above all according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," said Auza.
Big Ocean Women also supported the declaration that women and men should compliment each other in families, the labor market and society at large.
Their youngest member says spending a week surrounded by strong, impassioned women from all over the world has inspired her.
"I've learned so much that I want to take everything I've learned home and I want to empower young people like myself," said 18-year-old Emily Baker.
All of the members of Big Ocean Women believe their work has just begun.
