The year 2026 has opened against a backdrop of stalled progress on gender equality, the right to health and broader development justice, with global data showing regression rather than reform.
Even before the year began, the world was already off track. Rates of gender-based violence perpetrated by intimate partners and others have barely declined since 2000. Despite global commitments to end female genital mutilation and cutting by 2030, its prevalence has increased by 15% over the past eight years.
Advocates say these failures expose deep structural inequalities that continue to shape women’s lives across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The situation has been further complicated by a renewed global backlash against gender equality, marked by the United States’ withdrawal from 66 international organisations, including 31 UN entities working on gender equality such as UN Women. Several other countries have followed suit, raising alarm among feminist and health rights movements worldwide.
“We need to understand and acknowledge the sinister link between gender injustice and patriarchy, capitalism, militarisation, and religious fundamentalism,” said Shobha Shukla, Coordinator of SHE & Rights (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights).
“We owe a lot to countless feminist leaders who championed the cause of gender justice since decades. We were able to make some progress despite the pushbacks historically. Frontline defenders of health, safety and rights of girls, women and gender diverse peoples continue to protect the gains made and resist such pushbacks.”
Funding withdrawals threaten health gains in the Global South
Feminist leaders warn that US disengagement from multilateral institutions is already having ripple effects in low- and middle-income countries, including across Africa.
“US withdrawal from UN organisations including World Health Organization (WHO) is of deep concern,” said Dr Mabel Bianco, a feminist leader, physician activist and founding president of FEIM in Argentina. “It appears as if gender equality, right to health and human rights of women and girls and peoples in all their diversities, are of no interest to them.”
Dr Bianco said the move has triggered an economic crisis for many human development programmes because it comes with the suspension of US funding. “But other countries are stepping up their development financing which gives some hope,” she added.
“In the past US has been involved in supporting several important initiatives to protect people in low- and middle-income countries like Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean from malaria, HIV and TB. Sudden stoppage of funding is disruptive,” Dr Bianco said. “There are a lot of countries that were forced to reduce their health activities especially around sexual and reproductive health. USA does not seem to believe in multilateralism.”
She called for collective resistance and urged countries committed to gender equality to act together. “All countries which stand for gender equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights must unite and work together against this anti-rights push by a few rich nations which have economic, political and military might,” she said, ahead of the 70th Commission on the Status of Women in March 2026.
She also cautioned that UN reform processes, including UN80, must not weaken agencies such as UN Women and UNFPA. Despite mounting pressure, feminist movements say history shows that sustained organising can push back against regressive forces.
“Feminist movements have historically organised but unfortunately patriarchy never takes a vacation. Therefore, we the feminists, have never stopped organising,” said Paola Salwan Daher, Senior Director for Collective Action at Women Deliver. She cited landmark global agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and the Cairo Programme of Action as examples of collective feminist victories.
She warned that the current moment is defined by a resurgence of “unapologetic, unabashed, hegemonic masculinity” promoted online and by governments. “We are also seeing a rise in the far-right agenda and fascism or fascistic governments that are bringing this message of ‘women should not have the same rights as men’… and it’s not just women; it’s all marginalised communities.”
As Women Deliver prepares to convene its global conference in Melbourne in April 2026, Paola emphasised the need for global feminist solidarity. “We are organising to counter the conservative agenda that we are faced with and to push forward a more progressive agenda that really centres the autonomy, rights, and dignity of women and girls.”
Still, she argued that abandoning multilateralism is not an option. “We also do not want a world without multilateralism… now is the time to reimagine collectively what multilateralism can look like. How do we make it people-centred?”
Geneva Consensus Declaration challenged as anti-rights propaganda
Women Deliver and its partners have also raised concerns about the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which they describe as a political tool with no legal standing.
“Geneva Consensus Declaration is not a multilaterally negotiated document rather it is put together by anti-rights organisations,” said Paola. “It does not bear any kind of legal bearing. We are hoping that the feminist playbook that Women Deliver and partners are working on provides a different narrative.”
Advocates say global anti-rights trends are already affecting national and sub-national realities.
Human rights experts point to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as one of the strongest accountability mechanisms still available to civil society, including in African countries.
“UPR is the only UN mechanism that reviews every country on a regular cycle against human rights obligations of the governments,” said Dr Virginia Kamowa of the Global Center for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI). “All the commitments that are in UPR are public, which means that the public have access to those recommendations.”
She explained that UPR links global obligations to national policies, budgets and service delivery, with parliaments and civil society playing a crucial oversight role. “Public oversight is essential in translating the UPR commitments into change because if there is no public oversight those commitments might just be stagnant.”
Dr Kamowa noted that acceptance of health-related recommendations has increased over successive UPR cycles, particularly around maternal health. “Maternal mortality is largely preventable and is a co-indicator to right to health… Women who are poor, rural, young or marginalised are disproportionately affected.”
UPR reviews in 2026 include several African countries, among them Namibia, Mozambique, Somalia, Seychelles and Eswatini.
Decriminalising abortion remains a frontline struggle
The fight for reproductive rights remains contentious in many countries, including the Philippines, where activists say global signals matter.
“The US withdrawal from international organisations… is also a signal from a global superpower that ‘it’s okay for governments to de-prioritise gender equality,’” said Pauline Fernandez of the Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network (PINSAN). She said this was evident during the Philippines’ recent UPR, where recommendations to decriminalise abortion were rejected.
“PINSAN’s campaign calls to decriminalise abortion in the Philippines. This means that abortion will no longer be treated as a crime,” Fernandez said, stressing that no one should be punished for accessing care.
As anti-rights movements gain ground globally, feminist leaders say the path forward lies in sustained organising, accountability and solidarity across borders—particularly among countries of the Global South.
