Five Significant Developments in the Assault on the Freedoms of Women and Girls in 2025.

Twelve months prior, organisations advocating for women's rights were steeling themselves against a new Trump administration. Few were prepared for. The flood and velocity of presidential directives coming out of the White House were seen as a deliberate tactic to overwhelm and create panic. The tactic proved effective – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as networks struggled to fill the gap left by a abrupt cessation of financial support. But this merely marked the opening act.

The Trump administration has been the key driver, aided by relentless activism by deeply conservative factions capitalizing on the climate to forge international alliances with like-minded governments.

The movement against gender equality signifies a transnational grouping of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as affluent financiers and clans that strive to weaken forward movement on multiple topics. These include abortion, LGBTQ rights, trans rights, non-traditional family structures and comprehensive sexuality education.

They pursue this agenda via pressuring states, backing lawsuits, disparaging UN work to push for parity, disseminating propaganda, and supporting ideologically-matched groups.

We look at five episodes that impacted the safety, dignity and lives of females globally.

USAID Dismantled

In the month of March, a month and a half following a major US aid agency is halted, causing global disruption, a leading figure in the administration states that a vast majority of the institution's work will be scrapped. US diplomats, past leaders and aid and medical specialists decry the decision, warning that fatalities will ensue. Activists say that the demise of the agency is not just a financial shortfall, it is a savage attack on human rights and access to contraception and reproductive health services. Numerous groups say the impact on girls and women will be severe by waning support, especially in war zones. As the year ends, statistics reveal how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with millions more to come. Two other major donor nations follow with their own cuts. A leader of an international advocacy group 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 high-end hotel in NYC for a biannual gathering held in parallel with the annual UN Women gathering. 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 applaud shifts in US policy on social issues and termination of pregnancy. Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations opens the women’s summit with a somber alert that “the toxin of gendered hierarchy” is back, after a report shows that groups opposing progressive rights are actively undermining longstanding consensus on key women’s rights issues around the world.

Summits Promoting Conservative Norms

Over the summer, a cluster of meetings in Africa themed around the conventional household and state autonomy sparks alarm among rights advocates. In early May, a national leader and spouse open a significant conference to resist what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A few days later, another regional summit on traditional morals is held. Both events are graced by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including leaders of well-known groups. One speaker calls on African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of global institutions. In the following month, a global faith group hosts a gathering about supporting traditional households in West Africa, 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.

American Plan to Burn Birth Control

As clinics in sub-Saharan Africa report they are facing shortages of birth control, including prophylaxis for assault victims, the US announces in midsummer plans to dispose of millions of dollars worth of contraceptives held in a European depot. A global sexual health network states that their elimination will deprive millions of women and girls 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 imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “an intentional act of reproductive coercion”. A renowned doctors' group calls it “callous and reckless”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can be distributed to those in need, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains unresolved as the regional government are blocking the destruction of viable medicines.

‘Global Gag Rule’ Expanded

Reviving the global gag rule, which prohibits Washington's support for groups that offer, promote, or give information about 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 the autumn, the US announces it intends to broaden the scope of the policy to include national governments and international bodies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. More details on the policy's widened application are expected in early 2026. A leader in global maternal health says broadening the policy will have “devastating consequences”. Reproductive justice campaigners fear that new US aid packages being discussed with African nations will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.