UNITED NATIONS – Three decades after the historic framework for gender equality was set in motion by global leaders, a recent report from the United Nations reveals that the rights of women and girls are facing serious threats, highlighting the persistent nature of gender discrimination within both economic and societal structures.
The report, unveiled on Thursday by UN Women, the U.N. entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment, notes that nearly 25% of governments around the world acknowledged a surge in the opposition to women’s rights over the past year.
While progress has been made, notably in areas like girls’ education and access to family planning, alarming statistics remain. Every ten minutes, a woman or girl falls victim to violence by an intimate partner or family member. Moreover, since last year, incidents of sexual violence linked to conflicts have increased by 50%. The report, released just in time for International Women’s Day, underscores the limited representation of women in leadership, noting that only 87 nations have ever had a female leader.
“The global landscape for women’s human rights is increasingly hostile,” stated U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He stressed the necessity to fortify efforts to make human rights, equality, and empowerment universally accessible to all women and girls.
In 1995, the Beijing conference, attended by delegates from 189 countries, paved the way for a pivotal declaration and a comprehensive action plan aimed at gender equality. Key areas included combating poverty, curbing gender-based violence, and enhancing women’s roles in corporate, governmental, and peace negotiation roles, while affirming for the first time in U.N. documentation that women’s rights encompass decisions surrounding their own sexuality and reproductive health.
The recent analysis covering insights from 159 nations highlights progressive actions taken over the last five years towards gender parity and women’s rights but warns of burgeoning threats against these achievements.
On the brighter side, the review mentions that 88% of countries have enacted legislation against violence towards women and have established support services for affected individuals. Many countries have prohibited discrimination in the workplace, and 44% are taking steps to bolster education and training opportunities for girls and women.
Nevertheless, gender inequality remains systematically entrenched, with significant disparities in resources and authority continuing to impede the advancement of women’s rights. “A weakening of democratic frameworks parallels the resistance to gender equality,” stated UN Women.
There is a looming perception that anti-rights advocates are striving to undermine the longstanding consensus on critical women’s rights issues, aiming to stall or negate legal and policy advancements that they are unable to reverse.
The report highlights that approximately a quarter of the world’s countries report that backlash against gender equality obstructs the execution of the Beijing platform’s objectives. Women globally possess only 64% of the legal rights afforded to men, and even though female representation in legislative bodies has more than doubled since 1995, male lawmakers still make up 75% of the total.
Young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are found to be at a disadvantage compared to other age groups concerning access to modern family planning. Maternal mortality rates have remained largely unchanged since 2015, and a tenth of women and girls reside in households classified as extremely impoverished.
Conflict-related sexual violence has recorded a 50% uptick since the previous year, with women and girls constituting 95% of the victims. In response to these findings, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous stated that the agency has crafted a strategic roadmap to draw closer to reaching the U.N.’s gender equality goals by 2030.
This plan advocates for a digital revolution ensuring that technology is accessible to all women and girls, investments in social protections such as universal health care and high-quality education to alleviate poverty, and a definitive end to violence against women and girls. Furthermore, it seeks to grant women equal participatory power and secure funding for gender-sensitive humanitarian relief during crises and conflicts.
