Five Pivotal Events in the Attack on the Rights of Females in the Past Year.

Twelve months prior, groups dedicated to gender equality were bracing themselves for a new Trump administration. Few were prepared for. The flood and velocity of presidential directives coming out of the White House were seen as a calculated strategy to induce a state of shock. The tactic proved effective – there was disarray, outrage, and weariness as groups rushed to plug the hole left by a major funding freeze. But the situation was about to worsen.

The American government has been the key driver, complemented by fervent lobbying efforts by ultra-conservative groups seizing the opportunity to forge international alliances with political allies.

Often termed the anti-gender movement signifies a transnational grouping of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as affluent financiers and clans that aim to roll back progress across a wide spectrum of issues. This encompasses pro-choice policies, equality for sexual minorities, gender identity recognition, and inclusive relationship teaching.

They pursue this agenda via influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to advance equality, spreading disinformation, and funding non-profit organisations.

We review five junctures that affected the protection, honor, and existence of females globally.

USAID Dismantled

In March, six weeks after a major US aid agency is suspended, causing turmoil around the world, a senior US official confirms that the lion's share of the institution's work will be scrapped. American foreign service officers, past leaders and aid and medical specialists denounce the action, predicting that mortality will increase. Human rights advocates say that the demise of the agency is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and access to contraception and reproductive health services. Many organisations say the impact on girls and women will be severe by shrinking assistance, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, reports confirm how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with millions more to come. Another pair of leading funders initiate similar reductions. A leader of an international advocacy group says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is a move to appease a political ally.

Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit

In the same month, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an high-end hotel in NYC for a biannual gathering held alongside the international conference on women's rights. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in buoyant mood as they celebrate shifts in US policy on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the world's top diplomat opens the global conference with a somber alert that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are systematically eroding longstanding consensus on core aspects of gender equality around the world.

African ‘Family Values’ Conferences

Over the summer, a series of conferences in Africa focused on the conventional household and state autonomy triggers anxiety among human rights defenders. In the start of May, a president and first lady open a significant conference to push back on what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A shortly thereafter, another Pan-African conference on conservative ethics is held. Both events are participated in by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “worldwide progressive social restructuring” of global institutions. In June, a global faith group hosts a family strengthening conference in an African nation, an event that reproductive rights advocates say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Campaigners note that the level of external participation has expanded considerably.

American Plan to Burn Birth Control

As clinics in sub-Saharan Africa report they are running out of contraceptives, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in midsummer plans to dispose of a vast stockpile of birth control held in a warehouse in Europe. A leading family planning organization states that their incineration will prevent millions of women and girls from access to birth control, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. The organization labels the plan an ideological decision “about forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A international emergency medical charity calls it “callous and reckless”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains at a standstill as host nation officials will not allow the destruction of viable medicines.

Broader Restrictions on Aid

Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is commonplace under certain US administrations. It came as no surprise 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 broaden the scope of the policy to include national governments and international bodies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Further specifics about the policy's widened application are expected in early 2026. A expert in child welfare says extending the reach will have “unimaginable effects”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being negotiated with countries in Africa will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.