Five Crucial Incidents in the Erosion of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in the Past Year.
A year ago, women’s rights organisations were bracing themselves for a return of Donald Trump to office. Scarcely anyone expected. The torrent and swiftness of executive orders originating in the White House were interpreted as a intentional maneuver to cause confusion and fear. To a large extent, it succeeded – there was bewilderment, fury, and fatigue as organisations scrambled to address the shortfall left by a abrupt cessation of financial support. But that was just the beginning.
The Trump administration has been the key driver, bolstered by intense advocacy work by deeply conservative factions exploiting the situation to solidify transnational relationships with sympathetic regimes.
This opposition to progressive rights refers to a global network of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as affluent financiers and clans that aim to roll back gains in a variety of areas. 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 push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups.
We look at five instances that influenced the safety, dignity and lives of the female population.
The Dismantling of USAID
In the month of March, a month and a half following a key American development organization is halted, causing global disruption, a top American diplomat states that over eighty percent of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. Career diplomats, past leaders and aid and medical specialists denounce the action, predicting that people will die as a result. Activists say that the closure of the organization is not just a financial shortfall, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and family planning and reproductive care. Numerous groups say females will bear the brunt by shrinking assistance, especially in war zones. As the year ends, statistics reveal how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from sickness, hunger, poor pregnancy healthcare, and abuse targeting females, with a far greater catastrophe looming. Additional key contributing countries follow with their own cuts. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is a move to appease a political ally.
Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting
In March, several conservative religious groups meet in an high-end hotel in NYC for a two-day conference held in parallel with the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an forum to discuss methods on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in high spirits as they applaud new Washington directives on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations opens the global conference with a grave caution that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are systematically eroding historic agreements on fundamental freedoms for women around the world.
African ‘Family Values’ Conferences
Over the warmer months, a series of conferences in Africa focused on the traditional family and national sovereignty sparks alarm among equality campaigners. In May, a national leader and spouse open a large assembly to resist what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A few days later, another continental gathering on family values is held. Both events are participated in by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of international organizations. In June, a global faith group hosts a family strengthening conference in the region, an event that health activists say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Activists observe that the extent of foreign involvement has increased markedly.
Contraceptive Destruction Order
As health facilities across Africa report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, including post-rape care packages, the US announces in July plans to dispose of a significant cache of reproductive health commodities held in a storage facility in Belgium. A leading family planning organization states that their destruction will deny a huge female population from contraceptive supplies, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an politically-motivated move “about exporting a regressive policy worldwide” and “an intentional act of reproductive coercion”. A international emergency medical charity calls it “heartless and dangerous”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US refuses all offers. The situation remains in deadlock as local authorities will not allow perfectly good supplies to be incinerated.
Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy
Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is typical of certain US administrations. It was anticipated when the policy was restored in January. The administration also reaffirmed membership in a pro-life declaration. 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 cover diversity programmes. Additional information regarding the broader enforcement are expected in early 2026. A director of a major health partnership says widening the scope will have “catastrophic impacts”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become contingent upon adopting the new, wider policy.
