A Quintet of Key Moments in the Erosion of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in This Past Year.

In the previous year, groups dedicated to gender equality were anticipating a new Trump administration. Few were prepared for. The torrent and swiftness of administrative decrees issued from the White House were regarded as a premeditated approach to cause confusion and fear. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as groups rushed to fill the gap left by a major funding freeze. But the situation was about to worsen.

The Trump administration has been the main instigator, complemented by vigorous campaigning by far-right organisations exploiting the situation to strengthen global ties with like-minded governments.

This opposition to progressive rights refers to a global network of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as ultra-rich backers and donors that work to dismantle gains in a variety of areas. These include access to termination, gay and trans protections, alternative households, and factual sexual instruction.

They accomplish their goals by advocating to officials, financing legal challenges, sabotaging multilateral work to advance equality, spreading disinformation, and funding non-profit organisations.

We look at five episodes that shaped the safety, dignity and lives of females globally.

USAID Effectively Dismantled

In early spring, a month and a half following a key American development organization is frozen, causing turmoil around the world, a leading figure in the administration states that over eighty percent of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. US diplomats, past leaders and relief and public health authorities criticize the move, warning that mortality will increase. Rights defenders say that the demise of the agency is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a savage attack on human rights and access to contraception and reproductive health services. Numerous groups say the impact on girls and women will be severe by diminishing aid, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, statistics reveal how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with a far greater catastrophe looming. Two other major donor nations follow with their own cuts. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a decision to slash billions in overseas assistance is a move to appease a political ally.

Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit

In the same month, several Christian-right organisations meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a strategic summit held alongside the annual UN Women gathering. It is an forum to discuss methods on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in optimistic frame of mind as they welcome changes in American foreign policy on gender, diversity and abortion. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations opens the women’s summit with a somber alert that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a study indicates that groups opposing progressive rights are actively undermining longstanding consensus on core aspects of gender equality around the world.

Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa

Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa centered on the conservative family structures and national independence sparks alarm among rights advocates. In May, a president and first lady open a significant conference to combat what they label external influences undermining local norms. A shortly thereafter, another continental gathering on conservative ethics is held. Both events are attended by leading American and European conservative activists, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker urges African NGOs to push back against “radical global social engineering” of global institutions. In June, a major religious institution hosts a family strengthening conference in an African nation, an event that reproductive rights advocates say has become a stage for criticizing gender equality. Campaigners note that the scale of their presence has expanded considerably.

US Threat to Destroy Contraceptives

As health facilities across Africa report they are facing shortages of birth control, including emergency kits for survivors of sexual violence, the US announces in midsummer plans to destroy millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a European depot. A major reproductive health federation states that their incineration will prevent countless females from contraceptive supplies, and lead to hundreds of thousands of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about exporting a regressive policy worldwide” and “an intentional act of reproductive coercion”. A renowned doctors' group calls it “callous and reckless”. Aid groups propose purchasing the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US declines every proposal. The situation remains at a standstill as host nation officials are blocking usable products to be destroyed.

Broader Restrictions on Aid

Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, 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 ban was reimposed 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 expand the global gag rule to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Additional information regarding the broader enforcement are anticipated next year. A director of a major health partnership says widening the scope will have “unimaginable effects”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that new US aid packages being arranged with states on the continent will become dependent on agreeing to the broadened restrictions.