🔗 Share this article Five Critical Pivotal Events in the Challenge to the Rights of Females in This Past Year. This time last year, feminist advocacy groups were steeling themselves against a return of Donald Trump to office. Few were prepared for. The sheer number and rapid pace of presidential directives issued from the White House were regarded as a deliberate tactic to cause confusion and fear. The tactic proved effective – there was chaos, resentment, and burnout as groups rushed to compensate for the loss left by a major funding freeze. But that was just the beginning. The Washington leadership has been the main instigator, complemented by fervent lobbying efforts by deeply conservative factions using the moment to build worldwide connections with sympathetic regimes. The anti-rights movement describes a worldwide alliance of elected officials, faith-based bodies, non-governmental organisations as well as ultra-rich backers and donors that work to dismantle gains in a variety of areas. This encompasses abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education. They accomplish their goals by lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to foster equity, propagating misinformation, and bankrolling sympathetic charities. We review five junctures that shaped the security, respect, and well-being of girls and women. USAID Effectively Dismantled In the month of March, six weeks after a prominent humanitarian funder is its funds are blocked, causing turmoil around the world, a senior US official confirms that over eighty percent of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. US diplomats, former presidents and aid and medical specialists condemn the news, stating that people will die as a result. Activists say that the dismantling of this institution is more than a funding crisis, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and access to contraception and reproductive health services. Numerous groups say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in war zones. As the year ends, statistics reveal how a significant mortality toll has been exacted from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with millions more to come. Another pair of leading funders initiate similar reductions. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is an attempt to placate a powerful partner. Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a strategic summit held in parallel with the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an chance to exchange strategies 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 gender, diversity and abortion. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the gender equality forum with a stark warning that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a report shows that anti-rights actors are deliberately weakening established norms on key women’s rights issues around the world. African ‘Family Values’ Conferences Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa themed around the traditional family and national sovereignty raises concerns among human rights defenders. In May, a head of state and partner open a large assembly to push back on what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A soon after, another Pan-African conference on conservative ethics is held. Both events are graced by leading American and European conservative activists, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker exhorts African NGOs to push back against “radical global social engineering” of international organizations. In the following month, a major religious institution hosts a family strengthening conference in an African nation, an event that health activists say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the extent of foreign involvement has expanded considerably. Contraceptive Destruction Order 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 significant cache of reproductive health commodities held in a European depot. A major reproductive health federation states that their elimination will deprive countless females from access to birth control, and lead to hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The organization labels the plan an ideological decision “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “callous and reckless”. Aid groups propose purchasing the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US refuses all offers. The situation remains in deadlock as the regional government are blocking the destruction of viable medicines. ‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which cuts American funding for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is typical of 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 extend the restrictions to include governments and multilateral organisations in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. Additional information regarding the expansion of the rule are likely forthcoming. A expert in child welfare says broadening the policy will have “unimaginable effects”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being negotiated with countries in Africa will become contingent upon adopting the new, wider policy.
This time last year, feminist advocacy groups were steeling themselves against a return of Donald Trump to office. Few were prepared for. The sheer number and rapid pace of presidential directives issued from the White House were regarded as a deliberate tactic to cause confusion and fear. The tactic proved effective – there was chaos, resentment, and burnout as groups rushed to compensate for the loss left by a major funding freeze. But that was just the beginning. The Washington leadership has been the main instigator, complemented by fervent lobbying efforts by deeply conservative factions using the moment to build worldwide connections with sympathetic regimes. The anti-rights movement describes a worldwide alliance of elected officials, faith-based bodies, non-governmental organisations as well as ultra-rich backers and donors that work to dismantle gains in a variety of areas. This encompasses abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education. They accomplish their goals by lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to foster equity, propagating misinformation, and bankrolling sympathetic charities. We review five junctures that shaped the security, respect, and well-being of girls and women. USAID Effectively Dismantled In the month of March, six weeks after a prominent humanitarian funder is its funds are blocked, causing turmoil around the world, a senior US official confirms that over eighty percent of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. US diplomats, former presidents and aid and medical specialists condemn the news, stating that people will die as a result. Activists say that the dismantling of this institution is more than a funding crisis, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and access to contraception and reproductive health services. Numerous groups say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in war zones. As the year ends, statistics reveal how a significant mortality toll has been exacted from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with millions more to come. Another pair of leading funders initiate similar reductions. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is an attempt to placate a powerful partner. Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a strategic summit held in parallel with the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an chance to exchange strategies 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 gender, diversity and abortion. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the gender equality forum with a stark warning that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a report shows that anti-rights actors are deliberately weakening established norms on key women’s rights issues around the world. African ‘Family Values’ Conferences Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa themed around the traditional family and national sovereignty raises concerns among human rights defenders. In May, a head of state and partner open a large assembly to push back on what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A soon after, another Pan-African conference on conservative ethics is held. Both events are graced by leading American and European conservative activists, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker exhorts African NGOs to push back against “radical global social engineering” of international organizations. In the following month, a major religious institution hosts a family strengthening conference in an African nation, an event that health activists say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the extent of foreign involvement has expanded considerably. Contraceptive Destruction Order 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 significant cache of reproductive health commodities held in a European depot. A major reproductive health federation states that their elimination will deprive countless females from access to birth control, and lead to hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The organization labels the plan an ideological decision “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “callous and reckless”. Aid groups propose purchasing the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US refuses all offers. The situation remains in deadlock as the regional government are blocking the destruction of viable medicines. ‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which cuts American funding for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is typical of 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 extend the restrictions to include governments and multilateral organisations in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. Additional information regarding the expansion of the rule are likely forthcoming. A expert in child welfare says broadening the policy will have “unimaginable effects”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being negotiated with countries in Africa will become contingent upon adopting the new, wider policy.