🔗 Share this article A Quintet of Landmark Occurrences in the Assault on the Freedoms of Women and Girls in This Past Year. In the previous year, women’s rights organisations were bracing themselves for a Trump presidency sequel. Scarcely anyone expected. The flood and velocity of White House mandates originating in the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. In many ways it worked – there was bewilderment, fury, and fatigue as organisations scrambled to address the shortfall left by a major funding freeze. But the situation was about to worsen. The US administration has been the key driver, supported by relentless activism by far-right organisations capitalizing on the climate to forge international alliances 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 seek to undermine gains in a variety of areas. This covers pro-choice policies, equality for sexual minorities, gender identity recognition, and inclusive relationship teaching. They achieve this through lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups. We examine five moments that impacted the protection, honor, and existence of the female population. USAID Dismantled In the month of March, a month and a half following a key American development organization is frozen, causing global disruption, a senior US official announces that a vast majority of the organization's initiatives will be axed. American foreign service officers, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists condemn the news, warning that fatalities will ensue. Activists say that the demise of the agency is not just a financial shortfall, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and birth control and maternal healthcare. Many organisations say the impact on girls and women will be severe by reduced funding, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, evidence indicates how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with many more millions at risk. Another pair of leading funders follow with their own cuts. A leader of an international advocacy group 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 March, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a biannual gathering held concurrently with 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 changes in American foreign policy on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a grave caution that “the venom of male dominance” is back, after a report shows that anti-rights actors are systematically eroding historic agreements on key women’s rights issues around the world. Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa focused on the conventional household and state autonomy raises concerns among equality campaigners. In early May, a head of state and partner open a significant conference to combat what they label external influences undermining local norms. A soon after, another continental gathering on conservative ethics is held. Both events are graced by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “worldwide progressive social restructuring” of multilateral bodies. In June, a major religious institution hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in the region, an event that health activists say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Advocates remark that the scale of their presence has grown significantly. American Plan to Burn Birth Control As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are running out of contraceptives, 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 incineration will prevent millions of women and girls from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an ideological decision “about exporting a regressive policy worldwide” and “a calculated move to control fertility”. A renowned doctors' group calls it “callous and reckless”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains unresolved as host nation officials are blocking perfectly good supplies to be incinerated. Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which cuts American funding for groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is standard practice for 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 expand the global gag rule to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to cover diversity programmes. More details on the policy's widened application are likely forthcoming. A leader in global maternal health says widening the scope will have “unimaginable effects”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become conditional on accepting the broadened restrictions.
In the previous year, women’s rights organisations were bracing themselves for a Trump presidency sequel. Scarcely anyone expected. The flood and velocity of White House mandates originating in the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. In many ways it worked – there was bewilderment, fury, and fatigue as organisations scrambled to address the shortfall left by a major funding freeze. But the situation was about to worsen. The US administration has been the key driver, supported by relentless activism by far-right organisations capitalizing on the climate to forge international alliances 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 seek to undermine gains in a variety of areas. This covers pro-choice policies, equality for sexual minorities, gender identity recognition, and inclusive relationship teaching. They achieve this through lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups. We examine five moments that impacted the protection, honor, and existence of the female population. USAID Dismantled In the month of March, a month and a half following a key American development organization is frozen, causing global disruption, a senior US official announces that a vast majority of the organization's initiatives will be axed. American foreign service officers, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists condemn the news, warning that fatalities will ensue. Activists say that the demise of the agency is not just a financial shortfall, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and birth control and maternal healthcare. Many organisations say the impact on girls and women will be severe by reduced funding, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, evidence indicates how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with many more millions at risk. Another pair of leading funders follow with their own cuts. A leader of an international advocacy group 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 March, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a biannual gathering held concurrently with 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 changes in American foreign policy on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a grave caution that “the venom of male dominance” is back, after a report shows that anti-rights actors are systematically eroding historic agreements on key women’s rights issues around the world. Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa focused on the conventional household and state autonomy raises concerns among equality campaigners. In early May, a head of state and partner open a significant conference to combat what they label external influences undermining local norms. A soon after, another continental gathering on conservative ethics is held. Both events are graced by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “worldwide progressive social restructuring” of multilateral bodies. In June, a major religious institution hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in the region, an event that health activists say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Advocates remark that the scale of their presence has grown significantly. American Plan to Burn Birth Control As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are running out of contraceptives, 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 incineration will prevent millions of women and girls from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an ideological decision “about exporting a regressive policy worldwide” and “a calculated move to control fertility”. A renowned doctors' group calls it “callous and reckless”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains unresolved as host nation officials are blocking perfectly good supplies to be incinerated. Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which cuts American funding for groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is standard practice for 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 expand the global gag rule to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to cover diversity programmes. More details on the policy's widened application are likely forthcoming. A leader in global maternal health says widening the scope will have “unimaginable effects”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become conditional on accepting the broadened restrictions.