Five Critical Pivotal Events in the Assault on the Rights of Females in This Past Year.
In the previous year, feminist advocacy groups were preparing for a new Trump administration. Hardly anyone anticipated. The sheer number and rapid pace of administrative decrees emanating from the White House were seen as a deliberate tactic to cause confusion and fear. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as networks struggled to address the shortfall left by a sudden aid suspension. But this merely marked the opening act.
The American government has been the main instigator, supported by intense advocacy work by religious fundamentalist networks using the moment to build worldwide connections with ideological partners.
This opposition to progressive rights refers to a global network of elected officials, faith-based bodies, non-governmental organisations as well as affluent financiers and clans that work to dismantle gains in a variety of areas. These include reproductive choice, queer and transgender freedoms, diverse family models, and honest sex ed.
They accomplish their goals by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups.
We review five moments that shaped the safety, dignity and lives of girls and women.
USAID Effectively Dismantled
In the month of March, a month and a half following a major US aid agency is its funds are blocked, causing global disruption, a senior US official confirms that a vast majority of the body's projects will be terminated. Career diplomats, past leaders and humanitarian and health experts denounce the action, predicting that fatalities will ensue. Activists say that the closure of the organization is not just a financial shortfall, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and family planning and reproductive care. A multitude of agencies say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by waning support, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, data shows how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from sickness, hunger, poor pregnancy healthcare, and abuse targeting females, with many more millions at risk. Additional key contributing countries announce their own austerity measures. A leader of an international advocacy group says a decision to slash billions in overseas assistance is a move to appease a political ally.
Faith-Based Activists Mobilize at UN Conference
In March, several conservative religious groups meet in an high-end hotel in NYC for a strategic summit held in parallel with the international conference on women's rights. It is an forum to discuss methods on how to oppose what they term a UN overreach. They are in optimistic frame of mind as they celebrate changes in American foreign policy on gender, diversity and abortion. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a grave caution that “the toxin of gendered hierarchy” is returning, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are deliberately weakening historic agreements on fundamental freedoms for women around the world.
Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa
Over the warmer months, a sequence of gatherings in Africa focused on the conventional household and state autonomy triggers anxiety among equality campaigners. In early May, a national leader and spouse open a large assembly to combat 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 Western campaigners against gender ideology, including heads of influential networks. One speaker urges African NGOs to push back against “radical global social engineering” of multilateral bodies. In June, a major religious institution hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in an African nation, an event that health activists say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Campaigners note that the extent of foreign involvement has increased markedly.
US Threat to Destroy Contraceptives
As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in midsummer plans to destroy millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a European depot. A major reproductive health federation states that their incineration will prevent countless females from contraceptive supplies, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. 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 international emergency medical charity calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US refuses all offers. The situation remains at a standstill as host nation officials are blocking usable products to be destroyed.
‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded
Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which halts US aid to 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 rejoined an international anti-abortion agreement. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to broaden the scope of the policy to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. More details on the expansion of the rule are expected in early 2026. A leader in global maternal health says widening the scope will have “devastating consequences”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become dependent on agreeing to the new, wider policy.
