UNITED NATIONS — A recent United Nations report, marking three decades since the adoption of a landmark plan aimed at achieving gender equality, highlights ongoing challenges to women’s and girls’ rights and warns of entrenched gender discrimination in many societies.
Published on Thursday by the U.N. entity focusing on women’s rights, the report reveals that nearly one-quarter of global governments experienced backlash against women’s rights last year.
Despite advancements in areas such as girls’ education and family planning access, the report by UN Women indicates that every 10 minutes, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or a family member. Additionally, instances of conflict-related sexual violence have surged by 50% since 2022. The document, released to coincide with International Women’s Day approaching Saturday, further notes that only 87 nations have been led by women at some point in their history.
“Worldwide, we’re witnessing an assault on women’s human rights,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated. “While equal rights should become the norm, misogyny seems to be gaining ground.” He emphasized the imperative of realizing rights, equality, and empowerment for women and girls globally.
The 1995 Beijing conference, attended by 189 countries, resulted in a seminal declaration and a comprehensive action platform advocating bold measures against poverty and gender-based violence, and promoting women in leadership roles across business, government, and peacemaking domains.
Crucially, this U.N. document also affirmed women’s rights over their sexual and reproductive health, free from discrimination and coercion.
The current report, compiling insights from 159 countries, acknowledges that significant strides have been made in gender equality and women’s rights over the last five years. However, these rights face escalating threats around the world. On a positive note, the report states that 88% of countries have enacted laws against violence towards women and set up support systems. Many countries have implemented measures against workplace discrimination and have also enhanced education and vocational training for women and girls in 44% of surveyed regions.
Nonetheless, the report identifies persistent gender discrimination rooted deeply in societal structures, resulting in uneven power and resource distribution that limits women’s rights. “The erosion of democratic frameworks has coincided with a growing pushback against gender equality,” UN Women emphasized.
The organization cautioned against “anti-rights groups actively undermining consensus on vital women’s rights issues” and noted attempts to impede or reverse legal gains for gender equality.
UN Women reported that backlash against gender equality has been a hindrance in almost 25% of countries to the implementation of the Beijing platform. According to the review, women possess just 64% of the legal rights afforded to men, and even though there has been progress in women’s political representation, men still dominate legislative bodies, composing three-quarters of lawmakers.
The agency also highlighted that young women aged 15 to 24 encounter significant barriers in accessing modern family planning, with maternal mortality rates hardly affected since 2015. Moreover, 10% of women and girls live in extreme poverty.
UN Women disclosed that conflict-related sexual violence cases have risen by 50% since 2022, with 95% of victims being women and girls.
In response to these findings, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous announced a new strategy aimed at achieving gender equality by the U.N.’s 2030 target. This includes a technological revolution granting comprehensive access to technology, investments in social safety nets like universal healthcare and quality education, and initiatives to completely eradicate violence against women and girls. The plan calls for equal participation in decision-making, and bolstered financing for gender-responsive humanitarian aid in conflict and crisis situations.
