🔗 Share this article Five Critical Significant Developments in the Assault on the Rights of Females in This Past Year. Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were steeling themselves against a return of Donald Trump to office. Few were prepared for. The flood and velocity of administrative decrees coming out of the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. The tactic proved effective – there was disarray, outrage, and weariness as networks struggled to address the shortfall left by a major funding freeze. But the situation was about to worsen. The Trump administration has been the primary force, bolstered by intense advocacy work by far-right organisations exploiting the situation to build worldwide connections with like-minded governments. This opposition to progressive rights refers to a global network of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as wealthy philanthropists and dynasties that seek to undermine gains in a variety of areas. These include abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education. They achieve this through influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs. We examine five episodes that influenced the safety, dignity and lives of the female population. The Demise of a Major Aid Agency In early spring, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is suspended, causing widespread distress, a senior US official confirms that a vast majority of the body's projects will be terminated. Career diplomats, former presidents and humanitarian and health experts denounce the action, stating that people will die as a result. Activists say that the demise of the agency is not just a financial shortfall, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and birth control and maternal healthcare. Numerous groups say females will bear the brunt by diminishing aid, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, data shows how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with millions more to come. Additional key contributing countries follow with their own cuts. A leader of an international advocacy group 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 upmarket New York hotel for a two-day conference held in parallel with the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an forum to discuss methods on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in buoyant mood as they welcome new Washington directives on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the gender equality forum with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is resurgent, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are actively undermining historic agreements on key women’s rights issues around the world. Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa Over the summer, a series of conferences in Africa focused on the traditional family and national sovereignty sparks alarm among human rights defenders. In early May, a national leader and spouse open a large assembly to push back on what they label external influences undermining local norms. A few days later, another regional summit on family values is held. Both events are attended by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including heads of influential networks. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “international liberal agenda” of multilateral bodies. In June, a global faith group hosts a event focused on reinforcing families in an African nation, an event that health activists say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Advocates remark that the scale of their presence has increased markedly. Contraceptive Destruction Order As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in midsummer plans to dispose of millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a storage facility in Belgium. A leading family planning organization states that their incineration will prevent a huge female population from contraceptive supplies, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A renowned doctors' group 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 the regional government refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed. ‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is typical of certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the rule was reinstated in the first month of the year. The administration also reaffirmed membership in a pro-life declaration. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to broaden the scope of the policy to include governments and multilateral organisations in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. More details on the broader enforcement are expected in early 2026. A director of a major health partnership says broadening the policy will have “unimaginable effects”. Pro-choice activists fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being arranged with states on the continent will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.
Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were steeling themselves against a return of Donald Trump to office. Few were prepared for. The flood and velocity of administrative decrees coming out of the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to induce a state of shock. The tactic proved effective – there was disarray, outrage, and weariness as networks struggled to address the shortfall left by a major funding freeze. But the situation was about to worsen. The Trump administration has been the primary force, bolstered by intense advocacy work by far-right organisations exploiting the situation to build worldwide connections with like-minded governments. This opposition to progressive rights refers to a global network of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as wealthy philanthropists and dynasties that seek to undermine gains in a variety of areas. These include abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education. They achieve this through influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs. We examine five episodes that influenced the safety, dignity and lives of the female population. The Demise of a Major Aid Agency In early spring, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is suspended, causing widespread distress, a senior US official confirms that a vast majority of the body's projects will be terminated. Career diplomats, former presidents and humanitarian and health experts denounce the action, stating that people will die as a result. Activists say that the demise of the agency is not just a financial shortfall, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and birth control and maternal healthcare. Numerous groups say females will bear the brunt by diminishing aid, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, data shows how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with millions more to come. Additional key contributing countries follow with their own cuts. A leader of an international advocacy group 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 upmarket New York hotel for a two-day conference held in parallel with the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an forum to discuss methods on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in buoyant mood as they welcome new Washington directives on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the gender equality forum with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is resurgent, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are actively undermining historic agreements on key women’s rights issues around the world. Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa Over the summer, a series of conferences in Africa focused on the traditional family and national sovereignty sparks alarm among human rights defenders. In early May, a national leader and spouse open a large assembly to push back on what they label external influences undermining local norms. A few days later, another regional summit on family values is held. Both events are attended by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including heads of influential networks. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “international liberal agenda” of multilateral bodies. In June, a global faith group hosts a event focused on reinforcing families in an African nation, an event that health activists say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Advocates remark that the scale of their presence has increased markedly. Contraceptive Destruction Order As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in midsummer plans to dispose of millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a storage facility in Belgium. A leading family planning organization states that their incineration will prevent a huge female population from contraceptive supplies, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A renowned doctors' group 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 the regional government refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed. ‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is typical of certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the rule was reinstated in the first month of the year. The administration also reaffirmed membership in a pro-life declaration. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to broaden the scope of the policy to include governments and multilateral organisations in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. More details on the broader enforcement are expected in early 2026. A director of a major health partnership says broadening the policy will have “unimaginable effects”. Pro-choice activists fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being arranged with states on the continent will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.