A Quintet of Pivotal Events in the Attack on the Freedoms of Women and Girls in This Past Year.
In the previous year, feminist advocacy groups were anticipating a new Trump administration. Few were prepared for. The volume and speed of executive orders issued from the White House were regarded as a intentional maneuver to overwhelm and create panic. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as groups rushed to plug the hole left by a sudden aid suspension. But the situation was about to worsen.
The Trump administration has been the key driver, supported by intense advocacy work by ultra-conservative groups seizing the opportunity to strengthen global ties with sympathetic regimes.
Often termed the anti-gender movement signifies a transnational grouping of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as wealthy philanthropists and dynasties that seek to undermine progress across a wide spectrum of issues. Areas targeted involve reproductive choice, queer and transgender freedoms, diverse family models, and honest sex ed.
They accomplish their goals by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs.
We look at five junctures that influenced the security, respect, and well-being of women and girls.
USAID Dismantled
In the month of March, a month and a half following a major US aid agency is its funds are blocked, causing widespread distress, a top American diplomat confirms that the lion's share of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. US diplomats, past leaders and aid and medical specialists decry the decision, stating that fatalities will ensue. Rights defenders say that the closure of the organization is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a savage attack on human rights and birth control and maternal healthcare. A multitude of agencies say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in war zones. As the year ends, evidence indicates how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from disease, starvation, lack of access to maternal care and gender-based violence, with many more millions at risk. Two other major donor nations initiate similar reductions. A director of a global justice organization says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is an attempt to placate a powerful partner.
Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting
In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an high-end hotel in NYC for a biannual gathering held alongside the international conference on women's rights. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in buoyant mood as they applaud new Washington directives on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the world's top diplomat opens the gender equality forum with a somber alert that “the poison of patriarchy” is returning, after a analysis demonstrates that anti-rights actors are systematically eroding 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 conservative family structures and national independence triggers anxiety among rights advocates. In May, a head of state and partner open a large assembly to resist what they label overseas agendas corrupting societal morals. A soon after, another Pan-African conference on family values is held. Both events are graced by leading American and European conservative activists, including heads of influential networks. One speaker urges African NGOs to resist “radical global social engineering” of international organizations. In June, a major religious institution hosts a family strengthening conference in an African nation, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Advocates remark that the extent of foreign involvement has grown significantly.
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 July plans to dispose of millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a warehouse in Europe. A major reproductive health federation states that their destruction will deny countless females from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “a calculated move to control fertility”. A international emergency medical charity calls it “heartless and dangerous”. Aid groups propose purchasing the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US declines every proposal. The situation remains at a standstill as local authorities will not allow usable products to be destroyed.
Broader Restrictions on Aid
Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, 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 ban was reimposed in January. The administration also rejoined an international anti-abortion agreement. But in October, the US announces it intends to extend the restrictions to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. More details on the expansion of the rule are likely forthcoming. A director of a major health partnership says extending the reach will have “unimaginable effects”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being discussed with African nations will become dependent on agreeing to the expanded global gag.
