🔗 Share this article Five Critical Significant Developments in the Rollback of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in 2025. In the previous year, organisations advocating for women's rights were preparing for a second Trump term. Scarcely anyone expected. The torrent and swiftness of executive orders originating in the White House were viewed as a deliberate tactic to induce a state of shock. To a large extent, it succeeded – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as groups rushed to compensate for the loss left by a sudden aid suspension. But the situation was about to worsen. The Trump administration has been the key driver, complemented by vigorous campaigning by deeply conservative factions capitalizing on the climate to solidify transnational relationships with sympathetic regimes. The anti-rights movement signifies a transnational grouping of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as affluent financiers and clans 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 accomplish their goals by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs. We look at five instances that influenced the welfare, autonomy, and survival of girls and women. USAID Effectively Dismantled In March, shortly after a major US aid agency is halted, causing turmoil around the world, a top American diplomat reveals that a vast majority of the organization's initiatives will be axed. Career diplomats, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists decry the decision, cautioning that lives will be lost. Activists say that the closure of the organization is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and birth control and maternal healthcare. Many organisations say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, evidence indicates how a significant mortality toll has been exacted 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 director of a global justice organization says a choice to reduce international development funding is an attempt to placate a powerful partner. Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting In March, several conservative religious groups meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a biannual gathering held alongside the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in optimistic frame of mind as they celebrate new Washington directives on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is resurgent, after a report shows that opponents of gender equality are actively undermining longstanding consensus on fundamental freedoms for women around the world. Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa Over the summer, a sequence of gatherings in Africa centered on the conservative family structures and national independence sparks alarm among equality campaigners. In May, a president and first lady open a major forum to resist what they label external influences undermining local norms. A few days later, another Pan-African conference on traditional morals is held. Both events are graced by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker exhorts African NGOs to push back against “radical global social engineering” of global institutions. In the following month, a major religious institution hosts a event focused on reinforcing families in the region, an event that reproductive rights advocates say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the level of external participation has increased markedly. Contraceptive Destruction Order As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, including post-rape care packages, the US announces in July plans to dispose of millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a warehouse in Europe. A global sexual health network states that their incineration will prevent millions of women and girls from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an politically-motivated move “about forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “heartless and dangerous”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains unresolved as host nation officials are blocking usable products to be destroyed. Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which halts US aid to groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is typical of certain US administrations. It came as no surprise when the ban was reimposed 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 include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. Additional information regarding the policy's widened application are anticipated next year. A leader in global maternal health says broadening the policy will have “devastating consequences”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.
In the previous year, organisations advocating for women's rights were preparing for a second Trump term. Scarcely anyone expected. The torrent and swiftness of executive orders originating in the White House were viewed as a deliberate tactic to induce a state of shock. To a large extent, it succeeded – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as groups rushed to compensate for the loss left by a sudden aid suspension. But the situation was about to worsen. The Trump administration has been the key driver, complemented by vigorous campaigning by deeply conservative factions capitalizing on the climate to solidify transnational relationships with sympathetic regimes. The anti-rights movement signifies a transnational grouping of government figures, churches, and advocacy collectives as well as affluent financiers and clans 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 accomplish their goals by influencing policymakers, funding litigation, undermining global initiatives to promote fairness, circulating falsehoods, and resourcing aligned NGOs. We look at five instances that influenced the welfare, autonomy, and survival of girls and women. USAID Effectively Dismantled In March, shortly after a major US aid agency is halted, causing turmoil around the world, a top American diplomat reveals that a vast majority of the organization's initiatives will be axed. Career diplomats, ex-presidents and aid and medical specialists decry the decision, cautioning that lives will be lost. Activists say that the closure of the organization is greater than a budgetary issue, it is a vicious offensive against basic liberties and birth control and maternal healthcare. Many organisations say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by diminishing aid, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, evidence indicates how a significant mortality toll has been exacted 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 director of a global justice organization says a choice to reduce international development funding is an attempt to placate a powerful partner. Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting In March, several conservative religious groups meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a biannual gathering held alongside the UN's flagship gender equality meeting. It is an chance to exchange strategies on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in optimistic frame of mind as they celebrate new Washington directives on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the UN secretary general opens the global conference with a stark warning that “the venom of male dominance” is resurgent, after a report shows that opponents of gender equality are actively undermining longstanding consensus on fundamental freedoms for women around the world. Conferences on Traditional Values in Africa Over the summer, a sequence of gatherings in Africa centered on the conservative family structures and national independence sparks alarm among equality campaigners. In May, a president and first lady open a major forum to resist what they label external influences undermining local norms. A few days later, another Pan-African conference on traditional morals is held. Both events are graced by leading US and European anti-rights figures, including presidents of prominent organizations. One speaker exhorts African NGOs to push back against “radical global social engineering” of global institutions. In the following month, a major religious institution hosts a event focused on reinforcing families in the region, an event that reproductive rights advocates say has become a forum for opposing queer and trans rights. Activists observe that the level of external participation has increased markedly. Contraceptive Destruction Order As medical centers in numerous African countries report they are depleting their stocks of family planning supplies, including post-rape care packages, the US announces in July plans to dispose of millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a warehouse in Europe. A global sexual health network states that their incineration will prevent millions of women and girls from family planning options, and lead to a public health crisis of unwanted pregnancies. The organization labels the plan an politically-motivated move “about forcing a conservative worldview globally” and “a deliberate form of reproductive oppression”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “heartless and dangerous”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can reach their intended destinations, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains unresolved as host nation officials are blocking usable products to be destroyed. Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy Bringing back the anti-abortion funding ban, which halts US aid to groups that provide, advocate for or advise on abortion services overseas, is typical of certain US administrations. It came as no surprise when the ban was reimposed 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 include DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) projects. Additional information regarding the policy's widened application are anticipated next year. A leader in global maternal health says broadening the policy will have “devastating consequences”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.