🔗 Share this article A Quintet of Significant Developments in the Attack on the Freedoms of Women and Girls in the Past Year. Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were anticipating a Trump presidency sequel. Scarcely anyone expected. The volume and speed of administrative decrees emanating from the White House were regarded as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as agencies hastened to plug the hole left by a freeze on international development funds. But this was only the precursor. The Trump administration has been the primary force, aided by vigorous campaigning by ultra-conservative groups using the moment to build worldwide connections with ideological partners. The anti-rights movement describes a worldwide alliance of elected officials, faith-based bodies, non-governmental organisations as well as billionaire families and individuals that strive to weaken forward movement on multiple topics. This covers access to termination, gay and trans protections, alternative households, and factual sexual instruction. They achieve this through lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups. We examine five moments that influenced the security, respect, and well-being of the female population. USAID Dismantled In March, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is frozen, causing international chaos, a top American diplomat states that nearly all of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. US diplomats, past leaders and relief and public health authorities decry the decision, stating that people will die as a result. Rights defenders say that the demise of the agency is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and family planning and reproductive care. Many organisations say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, reports confirm how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with many more millions at risk. Another pair of leading funders initiate similar reductions. A leader of an international advocacy group says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is an attempt to placate a powerful partner. 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 concurrently with the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in buoyant mood as they applaud shifts in US policy on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is resurgent, after a study indicates that anti-rights actors are actively undermining established norms on key women’s rights issues around the world. African ‘Family Values’ Conferences Over the summer, a sequence of gatherings in Africa centered on the conventional household and state autonomy sparks alarm among human rights defenders. In early May, a president and first lady open a major forum to resist what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A few days later, another regional summit on conservative ethics is held. Both events are attended by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker urges African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of multilateral bodies. In June, a major religious institution hosts a family strengthening conference in West Africa, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the scale of their presence has expanded considerably. American Plan to Burn Birth Control 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 midsummer plans to incinerate millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a warehouse in Europe. A leading family planning organization states that their elimination will deprive millions of women and girls from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. 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 “cruel and irresponsible”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains in deadlock as the regional government refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed. 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 was anticipated 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 extend the restrictions to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. More details on the expansion of the rule are expected in early 2026. A leader in global maternal health says extending the reach will have “unimaginable effects”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that new US aid packages being negotiated with countries in Africa will become dependent on agreeing to the expanded global gag.
Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were anticipating a Trump presidency sequel. Scarcely anyone expected. The volume and speed of administrative decrees emanating from the White House were regarded as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as agencies hastened to plug the hole left by a freeze on international development funds. But this was only the precursor. The Trump administration has been the primary force, aided by vigorous campaigning by ultra-conservative groups using the moment to build worldwide connections with ideological partners. The anti-rights movement describes a worldwide alliance of elected officials, faith-based bodies, non-governmental organisations as well as billionaire families and individuals that strive to weaken forward movement on multiple topics. This covers access to termination, gay and trans protections, alternative households, and factual sexual instruction. They achieve this through lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups. We examine five moments that influenced the security, respect, and well-being of the female population. USAID Dismantled In March, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is frozen, causing international chaos, a top American diplomat states that nearly all of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. US diplomats, past leaders and relief and public health authorities decry the decision, stating that people will die as a result. Rights defenders say that the demise of the agency is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and family planning and reproductive care. Many organisations say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, reports confirm how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with many more millions at risk. Another pair of leading funders initiate similar reductions. A leader of an international advocacy group says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is an attempt to placate a powerful partner. 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 concurrently with the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in buoyant mood as they applaud shifts in US policy on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is resurgent, after a study indicates that anti-rights actors are actively undermining established norms on key women’s rights issues around the world. African ‘Family Values’ Conferences Over the summer, a sequence of gatherings in Africa centered on the conventional household and state autonomy sparks alarm among human rights defenders. In early May, a president and first lady open a major forum to resist what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A few days later, another regional summit on conservative ethics is held. Both events are attended by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker urges African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of multilateral bodies. In June, a major religious institution hosts a family strengthening conference in West Africa, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the scale of their presence has expanded considerably. American Plan to Burn Birth Control 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 midsummer plans to incinerate millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a warehouse in Europe. A leading family planning organization states that their elimination will deprive millions of women and girls from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. 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 “cruel and irresponsible”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains in deadlock as the regional government refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed. 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 was anticipated 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 extend the restrictions to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. More details on the expansion of the rule are expected in early 2026. A leader in global maternal health says extending the reach will have “unimaginable effects”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that new US aid packages being negotiated with countries in Africa will become dependent on agreeing to the expanded global gag.