Five Defining Significant Developments in the Assault on the Freedoms of Women and Girls in 2025.
This time last year, groups dedicated to gender equality were preparing for a return of Donald Trump to office. Hardly anyone anticipated. The torrent and swiftness of presidential directives coming out of the White House were interpreted as a intentional maneuver to cause confusion and fear. The tactic proved effective – there was chaos, resentment, and burnout as agencies hastened to address the shortfall left by a sudden aid suspension. But this was only the precursor.
The American government has been the central catalyst, bolstered by fervent lobbying efforts by far-right organisations using the moment to solidify transnational relationships with like-minded governments.
The anti-rights movement denotes an international coalition of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as billionaire families and individuals that seek to undermine advances on numerous fronts. 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 push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups.
We look at five junctures that shaped the safety, dignity and lives of females globally.
The Dismantling of USAID
In the month of March, shortly after a major US aid agency is halted, causing widespread distress, a leading figure in the administration states that the lion's share of the body's projects will be terminated. US diplomats, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists decry the decision, predicting that fatalities will ensue. Rights defenders say that the demise of the agency 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 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 disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with millions more to come. Two other major donor nations announce their own austerity measures. A leader of an international advocacy group says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is an attempt to placate a powerful partner.
Faith-Based Activists Mobilize at UN Conference
In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a strategic summit held concurrently with the annual UN Women gathering. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. 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 women’s summit with a stark warning that “the toxin of gendered hierarchy” is returning, after a analysis demonstrates that opponents of gender equality are actively undermining longstanding consensus on key women’s rights issues around the world.
Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa
Over the warmer months, a cluster of meetings in Africa themed around the conventional household and state autonomy sparks alarm among human rights defenders. In May, a national leader and spouse open a large assembly to combat what they label external influences undermining local norms. A soon after, another regional summit on family values is held. Both events are participated in by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including heads of influential networks. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “international liberal agenda” of multilateral bodies. In the following month, a global faith group hosts a family strengthening conference in the region, an event that health activists say has become a stage for criticizing gender equality. Activists observe that the level of external participation has increased markedly.
Contraceptive Destruction Order
As clinics in sub-Saharan Africa report they are running out of contraceptives, including emergency kits for survivors of sexual violence, the US announces in July plans to dispose of millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a warehouse in Europe. A global sexual health network states that their destruction will deny a huge female population from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an politically-motivated move “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”. 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 host nation officials refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed.
Broader Restrictions on Aid
Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which halts US aid to groups that provide, advocate for or advise on 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 governments and multilateral organisations in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Further specifics about the policy's widened application are anticipated next year. A expert in child welfare says broadening the policy will have “catastrophic impacts”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being negotiated with countries in Africa will become contingent upon adopting the expanded global gag.