Five Major Significant Developments in the Rollback of the Freedoms of Women and Girls in 2025.

A year ago, feminist advocacy groups were preparing for a second Trump term. The ensuing chaos was largely unforeseen. The torrent and swiftness of presidential directives coming out of the White House were regarded as a calculated strategy to cause confusion and fear. The tactic proved effective – there was confusion, anger and exhaustion as agencies hastened to plug the hole left by a abrupt cessation of financial support. But the situation was about to worsen.

The Washington leadership has been the primary force, aided by fervent lobbying efforts by deeply conservative factions exploiting the situation to build worldwide connections with political allies.

The anti-rights movement refers to a global network of political leaders, religious institutions, civil society groups as well as affluent financiers and clans that seek to undermine progress across a wide spectrum of issues. These include reproductive choice, queer and transgender freedoms, diverse family models, and honest sex ed.

They do this by pressuring states, backing lawsuits, disparaging UN work to foster equity, propagating misinformation, and bankrolling sympathetic charities.

We review five instances that affected the welfare, autonomy, and survival of females globally.

The Dismantling of USAID

In March, shortly after a key American development organization is its funds are blocked, causing widespread distress, a senior US official states that nearly all of the organization's initiatives will be axed. US diplomats, past leaders and aid and medical specialists decry the decision, warning that fatalities will ensue. Activists say that the dismantling of this institution is not just a financial shortfall, it is a savage attack on human rights and family planning and reproductive care. Numerous groups say women and girls will be disproportionately affected by reduced funding, especially in conflict areas. As the year ends, data shows how a tremendous loss of life has already occurred from illness, famine, inadequate obstetric services, and violence against women, with many more millions at risk. Two other major donor nations announce their own austerity measures. A director of a global justice organization says a move to cut foreign aid drastically is a gesture of alignment with another government's agenda.

Conservative Religious Groups Lobby at UN Women Meeting

In the same month, several conservative religious groups meet in an luxury Manhattan venue for a strategic summit held alongside the annual UN Women gathering. It is an opportunity to share tactics on how to counter the UN's progressive policies. They are in high spirits as they celebrate new Washington directives on LGBTQ issues, inclusion, and reproductive rights. Meanwhile, the world's top diplomat opens the global conference with a stark warning that “the toxin of gendered hierarchy” is resurgent, after a report shows that opponents of gender equality are deliberately weakening longstanding consensus on core aspects of gender equality around the world.

African ‘Family Values’ Conferences

Over the warmer months, a cluster of meetings in Africa focused on the traditional family and national sovereignty triggers anxiety among rights advocates. In May, a head of state and partner open a major forum to combat what they label criminal foreign forces eroding traditional family values. A soon after, another Pan-African conference on family values is held. Both events are graced by leading Western campaigners against gender ideology, including heads of influential networks. One speaker exhorts African NGOs to stand up to “radical global social engineering” of global institutions. In June, a global faith group hosts a family strengthening conference in the region, an event that pro-choice campaigners say has become an anti-LGBTQ, anti-gender platform. Activists observe that the extent of foreign involvement has grown significantly.

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 July plans to destroy a vast stockpile of birth control held in a storage facility in Belgium. A global sexual health network states that their elimination will deprive millions of women and girls from access to birth control, and lead to a surge in unplanned pregnancies and dangerous terminations. The organization labels the plan an dogmatic choice “about imposing an anti-rights agenda on the entire world” and “an intentional act of reproductive coercion”. A prominent medical humanitarian organization calls it “cruel and irresponsible”. NGOs offer to buy the contraceptives so they can fulfill their original purpose, but the US rejects each bid. The situation remains at a standstill as host nation officials refuse to permit usable products to be destroyed.

Widening of the Anti-Abortion Policy

Reinstating the Mexico City Policy, 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 rule was reinstated in January. The administration also signed onto a conservative consensus document. But in October, the US announces it intends to extend the restrictions to include sovereign states and UN agencies in addition to NGOs, and to encompass equity and inclusion initiatives. Additional information regarding the policy's widened application are expected in early 2026. A leader in global maternal health says extending the reach will have “unimaginable effects”. Advocates for bodily autonomy fear that fresh American assistance deals being negotiated with countries in Africa will become conditional on accepting the expanded global gag.