Committee on the Status of Women Promoting Positive Changes

By Léo Azambuja

Kaua‘i Committee on the Status of Women Chair Darcie Yukimura, left, and Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women liaison to Kaua‘i Edie Ignacio Neumiller, seen here flanking the artwork ‘19’ by Licia McDonald, celebrating 100 years of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, shown at the ‘Celebrating Women — A Retrospective’ exhibit at the Kaua‘i Society of Artists at Kukui Grove Center Aug. 10-23.

For several decades, the Kaua‘i Committee on the Status of Women has been a valuable resource for women on the island. The committee was formed after the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women was created by an executive order from Gov. John A. Burns in 1964.

“The Kaua‘i Committee on the Status of Women is a countywide committee which develops and promotes education, interactive opportunities on issues relating to women and girls, prevention of domestic violence, health and wellness awareness by partnering with other women’s organizations to support positive changes,” said Edie Ignacio Neumiller, ex-officio committee member appointed by Gov. David Ige last May to represent the county committee on the state commission.

KCSW represents a variety of issues relating to women. This year is particularly significant because the United States celebrates a century since women won the right to vote nationwide. On Aug. 26, 1920, U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby issued a proclamation declaring the 19^th Amendment ratified and part of the nation’s Constitution. This meant women in the United States were finally allowed to vote.

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex,” states Amendment XIX of the U.S. Constitution.

KSCW Chair Darcie Yukimura said the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage is significant because it was a hard-fought battle, a battle that started in the 1800s to allow women access to vote.

KCSW member Monica Kawakami. Contributed photo

“Our constitution allows all to vote, but our laws have prevented all people from having access to vote,” said Yukimura. She added even after the 19^th Amendment, not all women were guaranteed the right to vote. It wasn’t until the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, securing voting rights to racial minorities across the country, that women of color were allowed to vote.

“However, today, we’re still seeing obstruction to access to vote. We’re seeing that on the Mainland,” said Yukimura, adding that former First Lady Michelle Obama has told people to pack two lunches to stand in line to vote because there are systems actively making the process difficult. “We have an important election, and we are still fighting for democracy in 2020. We’re still fighting for the opportunity to vote.”

Guaranteeing voting rights for women may be an important issue, but it is just one in a spectrum of positive changes the Kaua‘i Committee on Status of Women promotes.

KCSW Vice Chair Regina Carvalho, wife of former Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., first served on the committee after being appointed by late Mayor Bryan Baptiste. Over the years, she has served several terms and has held various positions in the committee.

KCSW member Deena Fontana. Contributed photo

“I have used that time to bring to the table ideas and events, and see them come to fruition such as Women’s History Month, Career Day, Breast Cancer Walk and Awareness, Health Wise Health fair and essay contests,” Carvalho said. “We have new members and I’m excited to hear their ideas as we work together doing good things for the women of Kaua‘i.”

One of the new committee members is Monica Kawakami, wife of Mayor Derek Kawakami. As a new member, Kawakami said she plans to build upon the work and commitments that prior committees have been working on.

“Moving forward, I really would like to move on initiatives that help to build confidence and strength around women who have been victims of domestic violence,” Kawakami said.

What made her decide to join the committee, she said, was a desire to help girls and women to achieve their goals, and to also instill a level of self-confidence and inner strength to build a network of women who can lean on each other as they address the challenges women face.

KCSW member Angela Hoover. Contributed photo

For committee member Kathy Crowell, who has served on the Domestic Violence Prevention Task Force and on Child Family Services in Nana’s House, the committee has provided her with just that, the opportunity to network with successful female leaders in the community. Crowell said she looks forward to participating in the coordination of various events supported or organized by the committee.

Newly appointed member Angela Hoover said being a part of the KCSW has already helped her to think deeper regarding her views and actions on gender equality in our local community and globally. She hopes to use her term on the committee to further educate herself and others through advocacy and collaborative efforts to help bring positive and lasting change.

Three years ago, Deena Fontana spoke at the committee’s Career Day — co-sponsored by the Patsy T. Minsk Organization of the YWCA — sharing her journey, victory and struggles in becoming a school administrator at the Hawai‘i State Department of Education.

KCSW Vice Chair Regina Carvalho. Contributed photo

“The experience was simultaneously an opportunity to inspire the young women of my community, and also to be inspired by the dreams and ambitions that these young women have,” Fontana said. “As a current serving member of the committee, my desire is to widen the reach of this event in order for more young women to participate.”

Through her contacts with the school community, Fontana said she seeks to gather information of the needs of Kaua‘i’s young women, and also to widely publicize the event for more students to participate and be inspired.

Ignacio Neumiller was first appointed to KCSW by former Mayor JoAnne Yukimura in the early 1990s, and then reappointed by former Mayor Maryanne Kusaka. She took a break, and again joined the committee in 2013, appointed by former Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. Last May, she became an ex-officio member (no voting rights) after being appointed by Gov. David Ige to represent Kaua‘i in the state commission.

In those first years serving in the committee, Ignacio Neumiller said she learned a lot about different issues women face, and also awareness.

KCSW member Kathy Crowell. Contributed photo

“In the early 90s to mid 90s, domestic violence was a quiet topic. Now we’re in 2020, and it’s not a hidden word anymore; it’s not quiet anymore,” said Igancio Neumiller, adding she wants to help women to find resources beyond their own, especially during this pandemic, when there has been an increase in domestic violence against women.

This is Yukimura’s first term in any committee, and in only second year as a KCSW member she was nominated the chair. And with it came a lot of responsibility. She said a recent Arizona State University study shows human trafficking also occurs on Kaua‘i. This is an issue Yukimura said she cares deeply about, and she saw both the state commission and the county committee bring it to light in a way she hadn’t seen in any other realm.

“I saw that this was a vehicle that could start making changes on behalf of those I think that are most victimized and most vulnerable,” Yukimura said of the committee.

Artwork ‘19’ by Licia McDonald, celebrating 100 years of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, shown at the ‘Celebrating Women — A Retrospective’ exhibit at the Kaua‘i Society of Artists at Kukui Grove Center Aug. 10-23.

Last January, the committee presented the second part of a Human Traffic Forum, which brought several panelists, including Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women Executive Director Khara Jabola-Carolus, Arizona State University Director of the Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, Kaua‘i YWCA Clinical Director for Sexual Assault Services Stefani Iwami, Kaua‘i Police Department Chief Todd Raybuck, County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar, and nonprofit Ho‘ōla Na Pua (new life for our children) President Jessica Munoz.

Ignacio Neumiller said some women are afraid or shy to talk about issues that affect them, and KCSW becomes a voice for them. Yukimura said KCSW provides an opportunity for the public to have a voice in government, either by serving in the committee or as a community member testifying in any of the meetings, which are all open to the public.

“We really welcome women to come in, and if they feel there are issues that are not being addressed or inequities that they see, we welcome those voices,” Yukimura said. “It is a channel for women, not just adults; we love hearing from young women and what they’re seeing and what their challenges are.”

‘O Wau, I Am,’ mixed media painting, collage by Ramona Rinaldo, shown at the ‘Celebrating Women — A Retrospective’ exhibit at the Kaua‘i Society of Artists at Kukui Grove Center Aug. 10-23.

Ignacio Neumiller said she likes the term, “let your voice be heard.”

“Don’t be shy, say what you want to say, say how you feel about the different issues relating to women and girls. Be a voice for other people,” Ignacio Neumiller said.

Yukimura said this is the time for everyone to speak up about their needs, their rights, to get active and fight for our democracy. We need to exercise the right to vote, she said, to do it early and make sure our friends and family know how important it is to vote.

“We need to make it very clear that this is our time to make our voice heard, to vote,” Yukimura said.

The committee meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend. Times and dates are subject to change due to COVID-19 pandemic. Visit kauai.gov/kccsw or email smuragin@kauai.gov or call 241-4919 for more information.