Five Major Key Moments in the Rollback of the Rights of Women and Girls in This Past Year.

This time last year, groups dedicated to gender equality were steeling themselves against a return of Donald Trump to office. Few were prepared for. The torrent and swiftness of administrative decrees coming out of the White House were regarded as a deliberate tactic to cause confusion and fear. To a large extent, it succeeded – there was bewilderment, fury, and fatigue as organisations scrambled to plug the hole left by a abrupt cessation of financial support. But this merely marked the opening act.

The Washington leadership has been the central catalyst, bolstered by intense advocacy work by far-right organisations capitalizing on the climate to solidify transnational relationships with sympathetic regimes.

The movement against gender equality refers to a global network of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as billionaire families and individuals that strive to weaken advances on numerous fronts. This covers reproductive choice, queer and transgender freedoms, diverse family models, and honest sex ed.

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

We look at five moments that affected the welfare, autonomy, and survival of the female population.

The Dismantling of USAID

In the month of March, six weeks after a major US aid agency is frozen, causing widespread distress, a senior US official states that a vast majority of the body's projects will be terminated. American foreign service officers, former presidents and humanitarian and health experts condemn the news, cautioning that mortality will increase. Human rights advocates say that the demise of the agency is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a savage attack on human rights and birth control and maternal healthcare. Numerous groups say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by shrinking assistance, especially in war zones. 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 millions more to come. Two other major donor nations initiate similar reductions. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a decision to slash billions in overseas assistance is a gesture of alignment with another government's agenda.

Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit

In March, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a strategic summit held alongside the international conference on women's rights. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in buoyant mood as they welcome new Washington directives on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a somber alert that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a analysis demonstrates that groups opposing progressive rights are actively undermining longstanding consensus on key women’s rights issues 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 early May, a president and first lady open a significant conference to combat what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A shortly thereafter, another continental gathering on conservative ethics is held. Both events are graced by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including heads of influential networks. One speaker urges African NGOs to resist “worldwide progressive social restructuring” of global institutions. In June, a major religious institution hosts a family strengthening conference in the region, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a stage for criticizing gender equality. Campaigners note that the extent of foreign involvement has grown significantly.

Contraceptive Destruction Order

As clinics in sub-Saharan Africa report they are facing shortages of birth control, including emergency kits for survivors of sexual violence, the US announces in midsummer plans to dispose of a significant cache of reproductive health commodities held in a warehouse in Europe. A major reproductive health federation states that their destruction will deny countless females from contraceptive supplies, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “an intentional act of reproductive coercion”. A renowned doctors' group calls it “heartless and dangerous”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains unresolved as host nation officials will not allow the destruction of viable medicines.

‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded

Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is typical of certain US administrations. It came as no surprise when the ban was reimposed in January. The administration also reaffirmed membership in a pro-life declaration. But in October, 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 expansion of the rule are expected in early 2026. A director of a major health partnership says broadening the policy will have “catastrophic impacts”. Pro-choice activists fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being arranged with states on the continent will become dependent on agreeing to the broadened restrictions.