🔗 Share this article Five Landmark Occurrences in the Rollback of the Rights of Women and Girls in the Past Year. Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were anticipating a new Trump administration. Scarcely anyone expected. The flood and velocity of executive orders coming out of the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. The tactic proved effective – there was chaos, resentment, and burnout as groups rushed to address the shortfall left by a freeze on international development funds. But this merely marked the opening act. The American government has been the main instigator, complemented by relentless activism by ultra-conservative groups exploiting the situation to strengthen global ties with like-minded governments. The movement against gender equality signifies a transnational grouping of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as ultra-rich backers and donors that work to dismantle advances on numerous fronts. These include abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education. They do this by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups. We examine five instances that influenced the welfare, autonomy, and survival of females globally. The Dismantling of USAID In March, six weeks after a key American development organization is halted, causing turmoil around the world, a leading figure in the administration confirms that the lion's share of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. American foreign service officers, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists criticize the move, predicting that lives will be lost. Rights defenders say that the closure of the organization is more than a funding crisis, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and access to contraception and reproductive health services. Many organisations say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by reduced funding, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, statistics reveal how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from sickness, hunger, poor pregnancy healthcare, and abuse targeting females, with many more millions at risk. Additional key contributing countries follow with their own cuts. A director of a global justice organization says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is a gesture of alignment with another government's agenda. Faith-Based Activists Mobilize at UN Conference In March, several conservative religious groups meet in an high-end hotel in NYC for a biannual gathering held alongside the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in buoyant mood as they welcome new Washington directives on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations opens the women’s summit with a stark warning that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are deliberately weakening established norms on fundamental freedoms for women around the world. African ‘Family Values’ Conferences Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa centered on the conventional household and state autonomy sparks alarm among human rights defenders. In the start of May, a head of state and partner open a significant conference to combat what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A soon after, another Pan-African conference on traditional morals is held. Both events are graced by leading American and European conservative activists, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker urges African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of multilateral bodies. In the following month, a global faith group hosts a family strengthening conference in an African nation, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Advocates remark that the level of external participation has grown significantly. Contraceptive Destruction Order As clinics in sub-Saharan Africa report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, 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 major reproductive health federation states that their elimination will deprive millions of women and girls from family planning options, and lead to hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about exporting a regressive policy worldwide” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains at a standstill as local authorities are blocking the destruction of viable medicines. Broader Restrictions on Aid Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits Washington's support for 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 October, the US announces it intends to extend the restrictions to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. More details on the policy's widened application are anticipated next year. A expert in child welfare says extending the reach will have “devastating consequences”. Pro-choice activists fear that new US aid packages being arranged with states on the continent will become conditional on accepting the new, wider policy.
Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were anticipating a new Trump administration. Scarcely anyone expected. The flood and velocity of executive orders coming out of the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. The tactic proved effective – there was chaos, resentment, and burnout as groups rushed to address the shortfall left by a freeze on international development funds. But this merely marked the opening act. The American government has been the main instigator, complemented by relentless activism by ultra-conservative groups exploiting the situation to strengthen global ties with like-minded governments. The movement against gender equality signifies a transnational grouping of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as ultra-rich backers and donors that work to dismantle advances on numerous fronts. These include abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education. They do this by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups. We examine five instances that influenced the welfare, autonomy, and survival of females globally. The Dismantling of USAID In March, six weeks after a key American development organization is halted, causing turmoil around the world, a leading figure in the administration confirms that the lion's share of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. American foreign service officers, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists criticize the move, predicting that lives will be lost. Rights defenders say that the closure of the organization is more than a funding crisis, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and access to contraception and reproductive health services. Many organisations say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by reduced funding, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, statistics reveal how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from sickness, hunger, poor pregnancy healthcare, and abuse targeting females, with many more millions at risk. Additional key contributing countries follow with their own cuts. A director of a global justice organization says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is a gesture of alignment with another government's agenda. Faith-Based Activists Mobilize at UN Conference In March, several conservative religious groups meet in an high-end hotel in NYC for a biannual gathering held alongside the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in buoyant mood as they welcome new Washington directives on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations opens the women’s summit with a stark warning that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are deliberately weakening established norms on fundamental freedoms for women around the world. African ‘Family Values’ Conferences Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa centered on the conventional household and state autonomy sparks alarm among human rights defenders. In the start of May, a head of state and partner open a significant conference to combat what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A soon after, another Pan-African conference on traditional morals is held. Both events are graced by leading American and European conservative activists, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker urges African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of multilateral bodies. In the following month, a global faith group hosts a family strengthening conference in an African nation, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Advocates remark that the level of external participation has grown significantly. Contraceptive Destruction Order As clinics in sub-Saharan Africa report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, 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 major reproductive health federation states that their elimination will deprive millions of women and girls from family planning options, and lead to hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about exporting a regressive policy worldwide” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains at a standstill as local authorities are blocking the destruction of viable medicines. Broader Restrictions on Aid Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits Washington's support for 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 October, the US announces it intends to extend the restrictions to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. More details on the policy's widened application are anticipated next year. A expert in child welfare says extending the reach will have “devastating consequences”. Pro-choice activists fear that new US aid packages being arranged with states on the continent will become conditional on accepting the new, wider policy.