Five Major Pivotal Events in the Assault on the Rights of Females in the Past Year.

Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were anticipating a return of Donald Trump to office. Few were prepared for. The flood and velocity of presidential directives coming out of the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. This strategy had its intended impact – there was chaos, resentment, and burnout as networks struggled to address the shortfall left by a sudden aid suspension. But this merely marked the opening act.

The Washington leadership has been the primary force, complemented by intense advocacy work by far-right organisations exploiting the situation to forge international alliances with like-minded governments.

The anti-rights movement signifies a transnational grouping of policymakers, doctrinal establishments, and activist outfits as well as billionaire families and individuals that aim to roll back advances on numerous fronts. This encompasses reproductive choice, queer and transgender freedoms, diverse family models, and honest sex ed.

They do this by lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to foster equity, propagating misinformation, and bankrolling sympathetic charities.

We look at five instances that impacted the welfare, autonomy, and survival of women and girls.

USAID Dismantled

In March, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is halted, causing turmoil around the world, a leading figure in the administration states that the lion's share of the organization's initiatives will be axed. American foreign service officers, former presidents and aid and medical specialists decry the decision, stating that people will die as a result. Human rights advocates say that the closure of the organization is more than a funding crisis, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and family planning and reproductive care. Many organisations say females will bear the brunt by reduced funding, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, reports confirm how a significant mortality toll has been exacted from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with a far greater catastrophe looming. Additional key contributing countries initiate similar reductions. 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.

Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit

In March, several conservative religious groups meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a strategic summit held alongside the international conference on women's rights. It is an forum to discuss methods on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in buoyant mood as they welcome new Washington directives on gender, diversity and abortion. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations opens the global conference with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is back, after a study indicates that anti-rights actors are deliberately weakening established norms on core aspects of gender equality around the world.

African ‘Family Values’ Conferences

Over the warmer months, a sequence of gatherings in Africa centered on the traditional family and national sovereignty triggers anxiety among equality campaigners. In early May, a national leader and spouse open a large assembly to push back on what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A soon after, another continental gathering on traditional morals is held. Both events are graced by leading American and European conservative activists, including heads of influential networks. One speaker exhorts African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of multilateral bodies. In the following month, a major religious institution hosts a event focused on reinforcing families in West Africa, an event that reproductive rights advocates say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the scale of their presence has expanded considerably.

US Threat to Destroy Contraceptives

As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are running out of contraceptives, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in July plans to dispose of millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a European depot. A major reproductive health federation states that their elimination will deprive a huge female population from access to birth control, and lead to hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The organization labels the plan an ideological decision “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “an intentional act of reproductive coercion”. A international emergency medical charity calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. NGOs offer to buy 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 refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed.

‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded

Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which cuts American funding for groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is standard practice for certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the rule was reinstated in the first month of the year. The administration also signed onto a conservative consensus document. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to extend the restrictions to include governments and multilateral organisations in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Additional information regarding the broader enforcement are likely forthcoming. A expert in child welfare says widening the scope will have “catastrophic impacts”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being discussed with African nations will become dependent on agreeing to the broadened restrictions.