Five Major Crucial Incidents in the Erosion of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in This Past Year.

Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were bracing themselves for a return of Donald Trump to office. Scarcely anyone expected. The sheer number and rapid pace of presidential directives emanating from the White House were interpreted as a premeditated approach to overwhelm and create panic. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as groups rushed to fill the gap left by a sudden aid suspension. But this merely marked the opening act.

The American government has been the primary force, complemented by relentless activism by ultra-conservative groups using the moment to solidify transnational relationships with ideological partners.

Often termed the anti-gender movement describes a worldwide alliance of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as billionaire families and individuals that strive to weaken gains in a variety of areas. Areas targeted involve abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education.

They pursue this agenda via lobbying governments, supporting court cases, discrediting international efforts to advance equality, spreading disinformation, and funding non-profit organisations.

We examine five episodes that influenced the protection, honor, and existence of women and girls.

USAID Effectively Dismantled

In the month of March, a month and a half following a key American development organization is its funds are blocked, causing turmoil around the world, a leading figure in the administration states that nearly all of the body's projects will be terminated. American foreign service officers, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists criticize the move, warning that fatalities will ensue. Human rights advocates say that the dismantling of this institution is not just a financial shortfall, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and access to contraception and reproductive health services. A multitude of agencies say females will bear the brunt by diminishing aid, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, reports confirm 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. Two other major donor nations announce their own austerity measures. A head of a worldwide campaign network says a choice to reduce international development funding is an attempt to placate a powerful partner.

Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit

In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a strategic summit held in parallel with the international conference on women's rights. 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 applaud shifts in US policy on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the world's top diplomat opens the women’s summit with a somber alert that “the venom of male dominance” is back, after a study indicates that groups opposing progressive rights are actively undermining historic agreements on core aspects of gender equality around the world.

African ‘Family Values’ Conferences

Over the summer, a sequence of gatherings in Africa centered on the traditional family and national sovereignty triggers anxiety among equality campaigners. In early May, a head of state and partner open a large assembly to resist what they label external influences undermining local norms. A few days later, another continental gathering on conservative ethics is held. Both events are participated in by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker calls on African NGOs to push back against “worldwide progressive social restructuring” of global institutions. In June, a major religious institution hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in West Africa, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the extent of foreign involvement has increased markedly.

US Threat to Destroy Contraceptives

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 a significant cache of reproductive health commodities held in a European depot. A major reproductive health federation states that their incineration will prevent countless females from family planning options, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. The organization labels the plan an ideological decision “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “an intentional act of reproductive coercion”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. Charities attempt to acquire the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains in deadlock as the regional government refuse to permit perfectly good supplies to be incinerated.

‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded

Reviving the global gag rule, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is standard practice for certain US administrations. It was anticipated when the ban was reimposed in January. 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. More details on the expansion of the rule are anticipated next year. A director of a major health partnership says widening the scope will have “unimaginable effects”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that upcoming Washington funding agreements being negotiated with countries in Africa will become dependent on agreeing to the new, wider policy.