Five Defining Landmark Occurrences in the Assault on the Rights of Females in the Past Year.

Twelve months prior, feminist advocacy groups were preparing for a return of Donald Trump to office. Scarcely anyone expected. The volume and speed of White House mandates originating in the White House were regarded as a intentional maneuver to cause confusion and fear. In many ways it worked – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as networks struggled to plug the hole left by a major funding freeze. But the situation was about to worsen.

The Trump administration has been the central catalyst, aided by intense advocacy work by far-right organisations exploiting the situation to solidify transnational relationships with like-minded governments.

The anti-rights movement refers to a global network of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as billionaire families and individuals that seek to undermine progress across a wide spectrum of issues. This encompasses abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education.

They accomplish their goals by advocating to officials, financing legal challenges, sabotaging multilateral work to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs.

We review five moments that affected the protection, honor, and existence of women and girls.

USAID Effectively Dismantled

In early spring, a month and a half following a prominent humanitarian funder is halted, causing turmoil around the world, a leading figure in the administration confirms that the lion's share of the body's projects will be terminated. Career diplomats, former presidents and aid and medical specialists decry the decision, warning that fatalities will ensue. Rights defenders say that the closure of the organization is more than a funding crisis, it is a savage attack on human rights and birth control and maternal healthcare. Many organisations say the impact on girls and women will be severe by shrinking assistance, especially in regions of instability. As the year ends, statistics reveal how a significant mortality toll has been exacted 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 director of a global justice organization says a decision to slash billions in overseas assistance is an attempt to placate a powerful partner.

Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting

In the same month, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an upmarket New York hotel for a two-day conference held in parallel with the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an forum to discuss methods on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in optimistic frame of mind as they celebrate shifts in US policy on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the women’s summit with a somber alert that “the venom of male dominance” is returning, after a study indicates that anti-rights actors are actively undermining longstanding consensus on core aspects of gender equality around the world.

Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa

Over the warmer months, a sequence of gatherings in Africa focused on the conventional household and state autonomy sparks alarm among human rights defenders. In the start of May, a national leader and spouse open a major forum to combat what they label external influences undermining local norms. A soon after, another continental gathering on family values is held. Both events are graced by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker urges African NGOs to resist “international liberal agenda” of multilateral bodies. In June, a major religious institution hosts a event focused on reinforcing families in West Africa, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Advocates remark that the level of external participation has grown significantly.

American Plan to Burn Birth Control

As clinics in sub-Saharan Africa report they are running out of contraceptives, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in midsummer plans to dispose of a vast stockpile of birth control held in a warehouse in Europe. A global sexual health network 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 politically-motivated move “about exporting a regressive policy worldwide” 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 reach their intended destinations, but the US refuses all offers. The situation remains unresolved as local authorities 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 provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is commonplace under certain US administrations. It came as no surprise when the policy was restored 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 broaden the scope of the policy to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. Further specifics about the expansion of the rule are expected in early 2026. A director of a major health partnership says widening the scope will have “catastrophic impacts”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that fresh American assistance deals being discussed with African nations will become dependent on agreeing to the new, wider policy.