🔗 Share this article Five Major Pivotal Events in the Rollback of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in This Past Year. A year ago, organisations advocating for women's rights were bracing themselves for a second Trump term. Scarcely anyone expected. The torrent and swiftness of executive orders originating in the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to paralyze through overload. To a large extent, it succeeded – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as organisations scrambled to fill the gap left by a major funding freeze. But this was only the precursor. The Washington leadership has been the central catalyst, complemented by vigorous campaigning by ultra-conservative groups seizing the opportunity to build worldwide connections with like-minded governments. The anti-rights movement describes a worldwide alliance of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as billionaire families and individuals that work to dismantle forward movement on multiple topics. This covers access to termination, gay and trans protections, alternative households, and factual sexual instruction. They accomplish their goals by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups. We examine five moments that influenced the security, respect, and well-being of women and girls. USAID Effectively Dismantled In March, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is suspended, causing turmoil around the world, a senior US official announces that a vast majority of the organization's initiatives will be axed. US diplomats, past leaders and relief and public health authorities decry the decision, warning that lives will be lost. Human rights advocates say that the closure of the organization is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and birth control and maternal healthcare. Many organisations say females will bear the brunt by shrinking assistance, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, evidence indicates how a significant mortality toll has been exacted from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with millions more to come. Two other major donor nations announce their own austerity measures. A director of a global justice organization says a choice to reduce international development funding is a move to appease a political ally. Faith-Based Activists Mobilize at UN Conference In the same month, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a two-day conference held concurrently with the international conference on women's rights. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to oppose what they term a UN overreach. They are in optimistic frame of mind as they applaud new Washington directives on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations opens the women’s summit with a somber alert that “the toxin of gendered hierarchy” is returning, after a report shows that anti-rights actors are deliberately weakening established norms on fundamental freedoms for women around the world. African ‘Family Values’ Conferences Over the summer, a sequence of gatherings in Africa themed around the conservative family structures and national independence sparks alarm among rights advocates. In May, a head of state and partner open a major forum to combat what they label external influences undermining local norms. A shortly thereafter, another Pan-African conference on family values is held. Both events are attended by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker calls on African NGOs to resist “international liberal agenda” of international organizations. In the following month, a prominent church hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in the region, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Campaigners note that the scale of their presence has grown significantly. US Threat to Destroy Contraceptives As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are running out of contraceptives, including emergency kits for survivors of sexual violence, the US announces in midsummer plans to incinerate a vast stockpile of birth control held in a European depot. A global sexual health network states that their elimination will deprive countless females 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 forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “a calculated move to control fertility”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “heartless and dangerous”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains in deadlock as local authorities refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed. ‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which cuts American funding for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is commonplace under certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the policy was restored in January. The administration also reaffirmed membership in a pro-life declaration. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to expand the global gag rule to include national governments and international bodies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Additional information regarding the policy's widened application are expected in early 2026. A director of a major health partnership says widening the scope will have “catastrophic impacts”. Pro-choice activists fear that new US aid packages being negotiated with countries in Africa will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.
A year ago, organisations advocating for women's rights were bracing themselves for a second Trump term. Scarcely anyone expected. The torrent and swiftness of executive orders originating in the White House were viewed as a intentional maneuver to paralyze through overload. To a large extent, it succeeded – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as organisations scrambled to fill the gap left by a major funding freeze. But this was only the precursor. The Washington leadership has been the central catalyst, complemented by vigorous campaigning by ultra-conservative groups seizing the opportunity to build worldwide connections with like-minded governments. The anti-rights movement describes a worldwide alliance of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as billionaire families and individuals that work to dismantle forward movement on multiple topics. This covers access to termination, gay and trans protections, alternative households, and factual sexual instruction. They accomplish their goals by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups. We examine five moments that influenced the security, respect, and well-being of women and girls. USAID Effectively Dismantled In March, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is suspended, causing turmoil around the world, a senior US official announces that a vast majority of the organization's initiatives will be axed. US diplomats, past leaders and relief and public health authorities decry the decision, warning that lives will be lost. Human rights advocates say that the closure of the organization is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and birth control and maternal healthcare. Many organisations say females will bear the brunt by shrinking assistance, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, evidence indicates how a significant mortality toll has been exacted from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with millions more to come. Two other major donor nations announce their own austerity measures. A director of a global justice organization says a choice to reduce international development funding is a move to appease a political ally. Faith-Based Activists Mobilize at UN Conference In the same month, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a two-day conference held concurrently with the international conference on women's rights. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to oppose what they term a UN overreach. They are in optimistic frame of mind as they applaud new Washington directives on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations opens the women’s summit with a somber alert that “the toxin of gendered hierarchy” is returning, after a report shows that anti-rights actors are deliberately weakening established norms on fundamental freedoms for women around the world. African ‘Family Values’ Conferences Over the summer, a sequence of gatherings in Africa themed around the conservative family structures and national independence sparks alarm among rights advocates. In May, a head of state and partner open a major forum to combat what they label external influences undermining local norms. A shortly thereafter, another Pan-African conference on family values is held. Both events are attended by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker calls on African NGOs to resist “international liberal agenda” of international organizations. In the following month, a prominent church hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in the region, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Campaigners note that the scale of their presence has grown significantly. US Threat to Destroy Contraceptives As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are running out of contraceptives, including emergency kits for survivors of sexual violence, the US announces in midsummer plans to incinerate a vast stockpile of birth control held in a European depot. A global sexual health network states that their elimination will deprive countless females 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 forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “a calculated move to control fertility”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “heartless and dangerous”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains in deadlock as local authorities refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed. ‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which cuts American funding for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is commonplace under certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the policy was restored in January. The administration also reaffirmed membership in a pro-life declaration. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to expand the global gag rule to include national governments and international bodies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Additional information regarding the policy's widened application are expected in early 2026. A director of a major health partnership says widening the scope will have “catastrophic impacts”. Pro-choice activists fear that new US aid packages being negotiated with countries in Africa will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.