Five Major Pivotal Events in the Erosion of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in the Past Year.
This time last year, women’s rights organisations were bracing themselves for a Trump presidency sequel. The ensuing chaos was largely unforeseen. The volume and speed of presidential directives issued from the White House were seen as a premeditated approach to cause confusion and fear. The tactic proved effective – there was bewilderment, fury, and fatigue as groups rushed to address the shortfall left by a major funding freeze. But that was just the beginning.
The Washington leadership has been the central catalyst, aided by intense advocacy work by deeply conservative factions capitalizing on the climate to solidify transnational relationships with ideological partners.
Often termed the anti-gender movement refers to a global network of policymakers, doctrinal establishments, and activist outfits as well as ultra-rich backers and donors that work to dismantle forward movement on multiple topics. This covers reproductive choice, queer and transgender freedoms, diverse family models, and honest sex ed.
They pursue this agenda via lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups.
We look at five episodes that shaped the security, respect, and well-being of the female population.
The Demise of a Major Aid Agency
In March, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is suspended, causing turmoil around the world, a senior US official states that the lion's share of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. Career diplomats, former presidents and humanitarian and health experts criticize the move, cautioning that fatalities will ensue. Activists say that the dismantling of this institution is more than a funding crisis, it is a savage attack on human rights and access to contraception and reproductive health services. Numerous groups say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, data shows how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from sickness, hunger, poor pregnancy healthcare, and abuse targeting females, with many more millions at risk. Another pair of leading funders announce their own austerity measures. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is an attempt to placate a powerful partner.
Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit
In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a strategic summit held concurrently with the international conference on women's rights. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in buoyant mood as they applaud changes in American foreign policy on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the women’s summit with a grave caution that “the toxin of gendered hierarchy” is back, after a study indicates that anti-rights actors are actively undermining historic agreements on key women’s rights issues around the world.
Summits Promoting Conservative Norms
Over the warmer months, a cluster of meetings in Africa centered on the traditional family and national sovereignty sparks alarm among equality campaigners. In early May, a national leader and spouse open a significant conference to push back on what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A few days later, another regional summit on conservative ethics is held. Both events are participated in by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker urges African NGOs to resist “international liberal agenda” of international organizations. In June, a prominent church hosts a event focused on reinforcing families in West Africa, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Campaigners note that the extent of foreign involvement has increased markedly.
Contraceptive Destruction Order
As health facilities across Africa report they are facing shortages of birth control, including emergency kits for survivors of sexual violence, the US announces in midsummer plans to destroy a vast stockpile of birth control held in a storage facility in Belgium. A major reproductive health federation states that their destruction will deny a huge female population from access to birth control, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “an intentional act of reproductive coercion”. A international emergency medical charity calls it “callous and reckless”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US refuses all offers. The situation remains at a standstill as local authorities refuse to permit the destruction of viable medicines.
Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy
Reviving the global gag rule, which cuts American funding for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is typical of certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the ban was reimposed in January. The administration also rejoined an international anti-abortion agreement. But in October, the US announces it intends to broaden the scope of the policy to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Additional information regarding the expansion of the rule are expected in early 2026. A leader in global maternal health says widening the scope will have “unimaginable effects”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become contingent upon adopting the expanded global gag.
