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round political button, yellow background with red text and image. "wahine power" image of a floral garland or lei tied with bow. Wahine is Hawaiian word for woman/girl. This button was used in Seattle by the API community advocating for women's rights. Commemorates the Asian American Women's caucus to the 1977 Washington States Women's Conference in Ellensburg. Between 1972 and 1977, the United States was embroiled in debates over women's rights and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. As a result of the these conversations and the United Nations Council designation of 1976 as International Women's Year, the US Federal Government, as mandated by Congress, funded conferences in various US cities to garner support for the ERA. The Washington State conference occurred in Ellensburg between July 8-10, 1977, with 4,000 registered women and 2,000 waiting to join in the conference proceedings. The conference covered many topics, including caucuses of Asian American women. "Wahine" is a the Hawaiian word for women and also references the caucus. The caucus was from Seattle and organized by Maria Batayola, Ticiang Diangsen and Sally Kuzama. They fought for women's rights in the Asian community.

2008.016.001.019