Five Major Pivotal Events in the Rollback of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in the Past Year.
A year ago, organisations advocating for women's rights were steeling themselves against a second Trump term. Scarcely anyone expected. The torrent and swiftness of executive orders issued from the White House were regarded as a calculated strategy to overwhelm and create panic. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as organisations scrambled to plug the hole left by a sudden aid suspension. But that was just the beginning.
The Washington leadership has been the main instigator, complemented by intense advocacy work by ultra-conservative groups capitalizing on the climate to strengthen global ties with like-minded governments.
The movement against gender equality refers to a global network of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as billionaire families and individuals that strive to weaken advances on numerous fronts. This covers pro-choice policies, equality for sexual minorities, gender identity recognition, and inclusive relationship teaching.
They pursue this agenda via pressuring states, backing lawsuits, disparaging UN work to foster equity, propagating misinformation, and bankrolling sympathetic charities.
We examine five junctures that influenced the safety, dignity and lives of women and girls.
USAID Dismantled
In March, shortly after a prominent humanitarian funder is halted, causing widespread distress, a top American diplomat confirms that the lion's share of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. US diplomats, past leaders and relief and public health authorities criticize the move, cautioning that fatalities will ensue. Activists say that the demise of the agency is not just a financial shortfall, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and birth control and maternal healthcare. Numerous groups say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by reduced funding, especially in war zones. As the year ends, data shows how a significant mortality toll has been exacted from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with a far greater catastrophe looming. Additional key contributing countries initiate similar reductions. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a choice to reduce international development funding is a gesture of alignment with another government's agenda.
Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting
In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an high-end hotel in NYC for a two-day conference held alongside the international conference on women's rights. It is an forum to discuss methods on how to oppose what they term a UN overreach. They are in optimistic frame of mind as they celebrate shifts in US policy on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the gender equality forum with a somber alert that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a analysis demonstrates that opponents of gender equality are actively undermining established norms on fundamental freedoms for women around the world.
Summits Promoting Conservative Norms
Over the warmer months, a cluster of meetings in Africa centered on the conservative family structures and national independence sparks alarm among rights advocates. In early May, a national leader and spouse open a significant conference to resist what they label external influences undermining local norms. A shortly thereafter, another continental gathering on traditional morals is held. Both events are participated in by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker urges African NGOs to push back against “international liberal agenda” of multilateral bodies. In June, a major religious institution hosts a event focused on reinforcing families in the region, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a stage for criticizing gender equality. Advocates remark that the level of external participation has increased markedly.
US Threat to Destroy Contraceptives
As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are running out of contraceptives, including post-rape care packages, the US announces in midsummer plans to incinerate a vast stockpile of birth control held in a European depot. A leading family planning organization states that their destruction will deny countless females from contraceptive supplies, 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 prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “heartless and dangerous”. Aid groups propose purchasing the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains in deadlock as the regional government refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed.
‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded
Reviving the global gag rule, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is standard practice for certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the rule was reinstated in January. The administration also signed onto a conservative consensus document. But in October, the US announces it intends to expand the global gag rule to include governments and multilateral organisations in addition to NGOs, and to cover diversity programmes. Additional information regarding the broader enforcement are expected in early 2026. A expert in child welfare says widening the scope will have “devastating consequences”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become contingent upon adopting the expanded global gag.
