Five Crucial Incidents in the Attack on the Rights of Women and Girls in This Past Year.

This time last year, organisations advocating for women's rights were preparing for a Trump presidency sequel. Few were prepared for. The torrent and swiftness of White House mandates emanating from the White House were interpreted as a deliberate tactic to paralyze through overload. This strategy had its intended impact – there was chaos, resentment, and burnout as organisations scrambled to fill the gap left by a abrupt cessation of financial support. But this was only the precursor.

The Trump administration has been the central catalyst, complemented by intense advocacy work by deeply conservative factions capitalizing on the climate to build worldwide connections with like-minded governments.

Often termed the anti-gender movement denotes an international coalition of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as ultra-rich backers and donors that strive to weaken progress across a wide spectrum of issues. These include 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 advance equality, spreading disinformation, and funding non-profit organisations.

We examine five episodes that influenced the protection, honor, and existence of the female population.

The Demise of a Major Aid Agency

In the month of March, shortly after a major US aid agency is frozen, causing international chaos, a leading figure in the administration states that over eighty percent of the agency’s programmes will be eliminated. Career diplomats, ex-presidents and relief and public health authorities condemn the news, warning that people will die as a result. Activists say that the dismantling of this institution is more than a funding crisis, it is a brutal assault on fundamental freedoms and access to contraception and reproductive health services. A multitude of agencies say the impact on girls and women will be severe by diminishing aid, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, data shows 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 initiate similar reductions. A director of a global justice organization says a choice to reduce international development funding is a move to appease a political ally.

Christian-Right Groups Raise Voices During UN Women Summit

In March, several faith-based advocacy networks meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a biannual gathering held alongside the international conference on women's rights. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to defeat the UN’s “radical agenda”. They are in high spirits as they welcome new Washington directives on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the world's top diplomat opens the gender equality forum with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is back, after a analysis demonstrates that anti-rights actors are actively undermining established norms on key women’s rights issues around the world.

Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa

Over the warmer months, a sequence of gatherings in Africa themed around the conservative family structures and national independence sparks alarm among equality campaigners. In early May, a national leader and spouse open a significant conference to push back on what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A soon after, another regional summit on family values is held. Both events are attended by leading American and European conservative activists, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of multilateral bodies. In June, a prominent church hosts a family strengthening conference in West Africa, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Campaigners note that the extent of foreign involvement has increased markedly.

American Plan to Burn Birth Control

As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are running out of contraceptives, including post-rape care packages, the US announces in midsummer plans to dispose of a vast stockpile of birth control held in a European depot. A leading family planning organization states that their elimination will deprive millions of women and girls from contraceptive supplies, 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 deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A renowned doctors' group calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. Aid groups propose purchasing the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains at a standstill as local authorities are blocking the destruction of viable medicines.

‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded

Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, which halts US aid to groups that offer, promote, or give information about abortion services overseas, is standard practice for certain US administrations. It was widely expected when the policy was restored in January. The administration also rejoined an international anti-abortion agreement. But in the autumn, the US announces it intends to extend the restrictions to include governments and multilateral organisations in addition to NGOs, and to include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. Further specifics about the policy's widened application are expected in early 2026. A expert in child welfare says extending the reach will have “devastating consequences”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become dependent on agreeing to the expanded global gag.