Five Critical Crucial Incidents in the Rollback of the Rights of Females in This Past Year.

This time last year, groups dedicated to gender equality were anticipating a Trump presidency sequel. Few were prepared for. The sheer number and rapid pace of administrative decrees coming out of the White House were regarded as a deliberate tactic to paralyze through overload. The tactic proved effective – there was chaos, resentment, and burnout as networks struggled to compensate for the loss left by a freeze on international development funds. But the situation was about to worsen.

The US administration has been the central catalyst, bolstered by relentless activism by ultra-conservative groups using the moment to strengthen global ties with like-minded governments.

Often termed the anti-gender movement denotes an international coalition of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as ultra-rich backers and donors that strive to weaken progress across a wide spectrum of issues. These include access to termination, gay and trans protections, alternative households, and factual sexual instruction.

They do this by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs.

We examine five junctures that influenced the welfare, autonomy, and survival of the female population.

USAID Dismantled

In March, shortly after a prominent humanitarian funder is suspended, causing turmoil around the world, a top American diplomat confirms that nearly all of the institution's work will be scrapped. US diplomats, ex-presidents and relief and public health authorities criticize the move, cautioning that fatalities will ensue. Rights defenders say that the demise of the agency is more than a funding crisis, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and birth control and maternal healthcare. A multitude of agencies say the impact on girls and women will be severe by shrinking assistance, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, data shows how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with a far greater catastrophe looming. Another pair of leading funders follow with their own cuts. A director of a global justice organization says a decision to slash billions in overseas assistance is a move to appease a political ally.

Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit

In March, several conservative religious groups meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a strategic summit held concurrently with the annual UN Women gathering. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to oppose what they term a UN overreach. They are in high spirits as they applaud changes in American foreign policy on gender, diversity and abortion. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a somber alert that “the poison of patriarchy” is resurgent, after a report shows that opponents of gender equality are deliberately weakening established norms on core aspects of gender equality around the world.

Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa

Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa centered on the conventional household and state autonomy sparks alarm among equality campaigners. In May, a head of state and partner open a major forum to push back on what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A few days later, another regional summit on conservative ethics is held. Both events are attended by leading American and European conservative activists, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker calls on African NGOs to resist “radical global social engineering” of global institutions. In the following month, a major religious institution hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in an African nation, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Campaigners note that the extent of foreign involvement has increased markedly.

American Plan to Burn Birth Control

As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are running out of contraceptives, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in July plans to incinerate a vast stockpile of birth control held in a European depot. A global sexual health network states that their elimination will deprive a huge female population from contraceptive supplies, and lead to hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “a calculated move to control fertility”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “callous and reckless”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains at a standstill as the regional government refuse to permit perfectly good supplies to be incinerated.

Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy

Reviving the global gag rule, which cuts American funding for groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is standard practice for certain US administrations. It was anticipated when the ban was reimposed in the first month of the year. The administration also rejoined an international anti-abortion agreement. 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. Further specifics about the broader enforcement are likely forthcoming. A expert in child welfare says widening the scope will have “unimaginable effects”. Pro-choice activists fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being negotiated with countries in Africa will become dependent on agreeing to the expanded global gag.