This year, we mark International Women’s Day in a somber mood but with a renewed commitment to gender equality and justice. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, a landmark moment in the global movement for gender justice. Over the past three decades, Beijing’s commitments have shaped policies, reformed laws, and amplified advocacy efforts across the world, leading to greater political representation, economic participation, and legal protections for women. The declaration also played a pivotal role in strengthening global awareness of reproductive rights, expanding access to contraceptives, maternal healthcare, and, in some cases, safe abortion services. Yet, alongside these significant victories, the past decades have also brought substantial setbacks that threaten to reverse progress.
Tragically, today, women’s rights are under greater threat than ever before. The rise of right-wing governments and the growing influence of far-right ideologies have fueled a renewed assault on feminists, women’s rights defenders, and gender equality movements.
Feminist movements and women-led organizations have been among the first to feel the impact of this global shift. The defunding of women’s rights organizations, feminist initiatives, and institutions supporting women’s health and well-being has significantly hindered progress, making it increasingly difficult to sustain the fight for gender equality.
In the South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region, the rise of authoritarianism, armed conflicts, and the influence of conservative ideologies have intensified hostility toward feminist movements and women’s rights defenders. Women who demand basic freedoms—whether in Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon, or Sudan—are met with brutal repression, imprisonment, and even death.
The Global Backlash Against Women’s Rights
Despite its groundbreaking vision, the Beijing Declaration now faces a coordinated pushback from governments and conservative forces seeking to undermine gender equality. One of the most alarming trends has been the systematic defunding of gender-focused programs, with many governments slashing budgets for women’s rights organizations, reproductive health initiatives, and gender-based violence prevention efforts.
In many countries, policies that once aligned with the Beijing Declaration’s commitments have been rolled back or weakened under the influence of right-wing and authoritarian movements, which frame gender equality as a threat to traditional values. The rise of anti-feminist rhetoric and regressive policies has resulted in the widespread dismantling of essential support systems for women—leading to the closure of domestic violence shelters, reproductive health clinics, and legal aid centers, depriving millions of access to critical services.
Unfortunately, the SWANA region has been at the epicenter of some of the most brutal of these conflicts. Across Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Lebanon, women bear the devastating consequences of war and displacement, as heightened militarization has amplified the impacts of gender-based oppression. Years of protracted conflict––largely funded by global and regional powers–– have disproportionately affected women, leading to a surge in child marriages, sexual violence, and maternal mortality as healthcare systems collapse under the weight of conflict and neglect.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian women and children have been killed, and even greater numbers displaced because of Israel’s 17-month-old brutal military assault on Gaza. Across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and women speaking out against Israel’s aggression have been arrested, detained, and mistreated in detention.
The war in Sudan has killed thousands of women and displaced many more; fighters in the war have committed atrocities against civilians, including SGBV, which has disproportionately impacted women and girls.
In Afghanistan, women have lost everything. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, they have been banned from education, employment, and public life—a deliberate and systematic erasure of their rights. In Iran, the government continues to push back against women’s rights activists and to punish those who participated in the “Woman Life Freedom” protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Jina Amini.
At the same time, international commitments to gender equality have lost political momentum, with funding shifting toward nationalist, militarized, and anti-rights agendas.
These setbacks reveal the fragility of progress, highlighting that without sustained political will and financial investment, the promises of the Beijing Declaration will remain unfulfilled and at risk of further erosion.
The Breakdown of the International Human Rights System
The weakening of the international human rights system has further undermined the commitments made under the Beijing Declaration, leaving women’s rights increasingly vulnerable to political backlash. Authoritarian regimes and right-wing governments have openly challenged the legitimacy of global human rights frameworks, eroding decades of progress. Women’s rights and human rights organizations and institutions struggle to enforce gender equality commitments amid rising nationalism, geopolitical conflicts, and deliberate state-led defunding of human rights initiatives.
Many governments, once vocal supporters of women’s rights, have either withdrawn from international agreements or actively blocked progressive policies, particularly in areas such as reproductive rights, gender-based violence prevention, and LGBTQ+ protections. Simultaneously, feminist activists and gender justice movements face criminalization and repression, with women’s rights defenders targeted, arrested, and silenced under the guise of national security or smearing campaigns.
This erosion of international protections signals a dangerous shift—where human rights are no longer seen as universal but rather as political bargaining tools, making the enforcement of gender equality commitments increasingly difficult.
A Call for Action and Resistance
As we celebrate March 8, we do so with both defiance and determination— honoring the victories won through decades of feminist struggle while recognizing the urgent need for renewed action and accountability.
This is not just a fight for women’s rights—it is a fight for human dignity, justice, and freedom.
To our fellow feminists around the world, in the face of backlash, repression, and systemic pushback, we say this: our resistance continues. The patriarchy may evolve, but so do we. The forces trying to silence us underestimate the power of a movement rooted in solidarity, truth, and an unwavering commitment to equality. We march, organize, and resist—not just for ourselves but for future generations.
Because our struggle is not just political—it is a fight for fundamental human values, and that fight will never be extinguished.
A Demand for Action and Accountability
We call on the international community, policymakers, and governments to step up, not step back. Funding for gender equality programs must be restored and expanded, and women’s rights organizations must be supported, not criminalized. We demand that human rights commitments, including those of the Beijing Declaration, be upheld with real political will. Now is the time to protect the rights we have fought for and push forward with even greater strength.