Five Major Significant Developments in the Assault on the Freedoms of Women and Girls in the Year 2025.
This time last year, feminist advocacy groups were anticipating a second Trump term. The ensuing chaos was largely unforeseen. The sheer number and rapid pace of administrative decrees coming out of the White House were regarded as a intentional maneuver to cause confusion and fear. To a large extent, it succeeded – there was bewilderment, fury, and fatigue as groups rushed to compensate for the loss left by a sudden aid suspension. But the situation was about to worsen.
The US administration has been the key driver, supported by fervent lobbying efforts by deeply conservative factions seizing the opportunity to forge international alliances with like-minded governments.
Often termed the anti-gender movement signifies a transnational grouping of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as billionaire families and individuals that aim to roll back forward movement on multiple topics. This covers reproductive choice, queer and transgender freedoms, diverse family models, and honest sex ed.
They do this by pressuring states, backing lawsuits, disparaging UN work to advance equality, spreading disinformation, and funding non-profit organisations.
We look at five episodes that shaped the safety, dignity and lives of the female population.
USAID Dismantled
In the month of March, a month and a half following a key American development organization is suspended, causing international chaos, a leading figure in the administration states that the lion's share of the institution's work will be scrapped. Career diplomats, former presidents and aid and medical specialists condemn the news, stating that people will die as a result. Rights defenders say that the demise of the agency 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 waning support, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, data shows how hundreds of thousands of people have already died from sickness, hunger, poor pregnancy healthcare, and abuse targeting females, with many more millions at risk. Two other major donor nations 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 the same month, several Christian-right organisations meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a strategic summit held alongside the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to oppose what they term a UN overreach. They are in high spirits as they welcome changes in American foreign policy on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a grave caution that “the venom of male dominance” is resurgent, after a analysis demonstrates that groups opposing progressive rights are systematically eroding established norms on fundamental freedoms for women around the world.
Summits Promoting Conservative Norms
Over the summer, a series of conferences in Africa focused on the conservative family structures and national independence sparks alarm among rights advocates. In May, a head of state and partner open a large assembly to resist what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A few days later, another continental gathering on conservative ethics is held. Both events are graced by leading American and European conservative activists, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker exhorts African NGOs to resist “international liberal agenda” of multilateral bodies. In the following month, a prominent church hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in West Africa, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Campaigners note that the level of external participation has grown significantly.
Contraceptive Destruction Order
As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are facing shortages of birth control, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in July plans to destroy millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a European depot. A global sexual health network states that their destruction will deny countless females from access to birth control, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an politically-motivated move “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “a calculated move to control fertility”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. Aid groups propose purchasing the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US declines every proposal. The situation remains unresolved as local authorities are blocking the destruction of viable medicines.
Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy
Reviving the global gag rule, which cuts American funding for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is standard practice for certain US administrations. It was anticipated when the rule was reinstated in the first month of the year. The administration also reaffirmed membership in a pro-life declaration. But in October, 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. Further specifics about the policy's widened application are likely forthcoming. A expert in child welfare 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.
