Five Critical Significant Developments in the Erosion of the Rights of Women and Girls in the Past Year.

Twelve months prior, organisations advocating for women's rights were bracing themselves for a new Trump administration. Hardly anyone anticipated. The flood and velocity of administrative decrees emanating from the White House were regarded as a premeditated approach to induce a state of shock. The tactic proved effective – there was bewilderment, fury, and fatigue as networks struggled to compensate for the loss left by a sudden aid suspension. But this merely marked the opening act.

The US administration has been the primary force, complemented by intense advocacy work by ultra-conservative groups capitalizing on the climate to forge international alliances with like-minded governments.

Often termed the anti-gender movement refers to a global network of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as wealthy philanthropists and dynasties that work to dismantle gains in a variety of areas. This covers pro-choice policies, equality for sexual minorities, gender identity recognition, and inclusive relationship teaching.

They accomplish their goals by pressuring states, backing lawsuits, disparaging UN work to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs.

We analyze five moments that impacted the welfare, autonomy, and survival of the female population.

The Demise of a Major Aid Agency

In early spring, six weeks after a major US aid agency is its funds are blocked, causing widespread distress, a senior US official reveals that a vast majority of the organization's initiatives will be axed. US diplomats, past leaders and humanitarian and health experts denounce the action, predicting that mortality will increase. Human rights advocates say that the dismantling of this institution is more than a funding crisis, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and family planning and reproductive care. Many organisations say females will bear the brunt by waning support, especially in war zones. As the year ends, data shows how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with a far greater catastrophe looming. Another pair of leading funders follow with their own cuts. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a choice to reduce international development funding is an attempt to placate a powerful partner.

Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting

In March, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a biannual gathering held alongside 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 welcome changes in American foreign policy on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the world's top diplomat opens the global conference with a grave caution that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a study indicates that groups opposing progressive rights are actively undermining historic agreements on core aspects of gender equality around the world.

African ‘Family Values’ Conferences

Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa centered on the conservative family structures and national independence raises concerns among human rights defenders. In the start of May, a head of state and partner open a large assembly to combat what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A shortly thereafter, another Pan-African conference 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 resist “radical global social engineering” of global institutions. In the following month, a global faith group hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in an African nation, an event that reproductive rights advocates say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Campaigners note that the level of external participation has expanded considerably.

American Plan to Burn Birth Control

As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, including post-rape care packages, the US announces in July plans to dispose of a significant cache of reproductive health commodities held in a European depot. A global sexual health network states that their elimination will deprive millions of women and girls from contraceptive supplies, and lead to hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A international emergency medical charity calls it “callous and reckless”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US refuses all offers. The situation remains unresolved as host nation officials are blocking perfectly good supplies to be incinerated.

Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy

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 was widely expected when the ban was reimposed 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 include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. More details on the policy's widened application are expected in early 2026. A leader in global maternal health says extending the reach will have “devastating consequences”. Pro-choice activists fear that fresh American assistance deals being negotiated with countries in Africa will become dependent on agreeing to the broadened restrictions.