Five Critical Landmark Occurrences in the Erosion of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in the Past Year.
In the previous year, groups dedicated to gender equality were bracing themselves for a new Trump administration. Few were prepared for. The torrent and swiftness of presidential directives coming out of the White House were regarded as a calculated strategy to cause confusion and fear. To a large extent, it succeeded – there was bewilderment, fury, and fatigue as networks struggled to fill the gap left by a sudden aid suspension. But this was only the precursor.
The Washington leadership has been the primary force, supported by fervent lobbying efforts by deeply conservative factions exploiting the situation to strengthen global ties with political allies.
This opposition to progressive rights denotes an international coalition of policymakers, doctrinal establishments, and activist outfits as well as billionaire families and individuals that aim to roll back progress across a wide spectrum of issues. Areas targeted involve reproductive choice, queer and transgender freedoms, diverse family models, and honest sex ed.
They pursue this agenda via lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs.
We examine five junctures that impacted the welfare, autonomy, and survival of women and girls.
The Demise of a Major Aid Agency
In the month of March, six weeks after a major US aid agency is frozen, causing global disruption, a senior US official announces that a vast majority of the organization's initiatives will be axed. US diplomats, ex-presidents and relief and public health authorities condemn the news, warning that fatalities will ensue. Activists say that the closure of the organization is not just a financial shortfall, it is a savage attack on human rights and birth control and maternal healthcare. Many organisations say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, statistics reveal how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with many more millions at risk. Two other major donor nations announce their own austerity measures. A leader of an international advocacy group says a decision to slash billions in overseas assistance is a gesture of alignment with another government's agenda.
Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit
In March, several Christian-right organisations meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a two-day conference held alongside the international conference on women's rights. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in buoyant mood as they welcome new Washington directives on gender, diversity and abortion. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the gender equality forum with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is returning, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are actively undermining 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 themed around the traditional family and national sovereignty triggers anxiety among rights advocates. In May, a national leader and spouse open a significant conference to push back on what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A soon after, another regional summit on family values is held. Both events are graced by leading American and European conservative activists, including heads of influential networks. One speaker exhorts African NGOs to resist “radical global social engineering” of global institutions. In June, a major religious institution hosts a family strengthening conference in an African nation, an event that health activists say has become a stage for criticizing gender equality. Activists observe that the scale of their presence has expanded considerably.
US Threat to Destroy Contraceptives
As health facilities across 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 global sexual health network states that their incineration will prevent countless females from family planning options, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. The organization labels the plan an ideological decision “about exporting a regressive policy worldwide” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US declines every proposal. The situation remains at a standstill as host nation officials will not allow the destruction of viable medicines.
‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded
Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which cuts American funding for groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is commonplace under certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the rule was reinstated in January. The administration also signed onto a conservative consensus document. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to expand the global gag rule to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. More details on the broader enforcement are anticipated next year. A leader in global maternal health says extending the reach will have “catastrophic impacts”. Pro-choice activists fear that new US aid packages being arranged with states on the continent will become contingent upon adopting the expanded global gag.
