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The National
08-03-2025
- Politics
- The National
Backlash against women's rights 'could hurt climate progress'
Thirty years ago, a landmark agreement was signed by 189 countries in China to further women's rights. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was to lay the foundations and provide a key global policy document on gender equality. Fast-forward to today, as countries around the globe roll out initiatives to mark International Women's Day, and new data released by the UN shows that women's and girl's rights face unprecedented growing threats worldwide. UN Women's latest report, Women's Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing, released on Thursday, says that in 2024 nearly a quarter of goverments worldwide reported a backlash on women's rights, in countries including Spain, Canada, the Philippines, Brazil, Lebanon, Australia, Mongolia and Zimbabwe. 'It is not a new phenomenon,' UN Women's policy and programme director Sarah Hendriks said at a news conference. 'What is new is that it's gaining in greater speed and scale and velocity,' especially in very patriarchal and traditional nations where men play a dominant role." Despite important progress, the UN highlights that only 87 countries have ever been led by a woman, and a woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a partner or member of her own family. 'Globally, women's human rights are under attack." said Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General. "Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we're seeing the mainstreaming of misogyny." From the boardroom to the newsroom, women are still disproportionately represented. For example, women account for just 10 per cent of Fortune 500 companies, and roughly 24 per cent of senior newsroom editorial roles are held by women. When it comes to the climate crisis, according to the UN, it is estimated that four out of five people displaced by storms and extreme weather events associated with climate change are women and girls. The UN estimates that by 2050, about 158 million more women and girls will be pushed into poverty. On the gender gap special of the Women in Climate podcast, a collaboration between The National and GIB Asset Management, Kathy Baughman McLeod, chief executive of Climate Resilience for All, said that women not only face gender bias when it comes to dealing with the effects of climate change, but are also placed at a disadvantage due to cultural gender stereotypes. For example, Ms Baughman McLeod said that during extreme heat, women she worked with in Pakistan could not escape to sleep in cooler areas saying "the women are not allowed to sleep outside. They have to sleep inside because they're not to be seen. But the men and the boys can sleep on the outside where the breeze is". To help bridge the gap between gender, climate, and building change, Climate Resilience for All launched an insurance programme last year to support women for lost income during heat in India. Experts say women should be better represented given the role they play in sectors such as food production and the resilience they show by taking on unpaid household chores and care work. In fact, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, in developing countries, women produce up to 80 per cent of food. "The issues remain around how do we unlock the challenges that preventing women from taking more action on climate," Jessica Robinson, partner at Solve Solutions, a UAE female-founded sustainability advisory firm, told The National. She says that the issue lies with education and access. Still, experts say a major barrier to progress this year has been the new policy stance on diversity and inclusion in the US. US President Donald Trump, in his address to Congress on Tuesday, declared an end to the "tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies" across the public and private sector, stating that the country will be "woke no longer." Ms Robinson called the move "woeful". However, Naomi Kerbel, host of Women in Climate and director of communications at SEC Newgate UK, said the wider push on diversity and inclusion, as well as sustainability, from the US opens an opportunity for women in leadership "who can really navigate change with resilience". The UN estimates that it could take another 300 years for full gender equality to be reached. However, Ms Kerbel highlights that we only have 25 years until 2050, the year seen as a major marker for international climate deadlines. "We've already surpassed one and a half degrees of [global] warming in 2024 so it's really imperative that we focus on that, and I think the women are the solution, because we can solve these issues in tandem," said Ms Kerbel.
Nahar Net
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Women rights under attack 30 years after leaders adopted blueprint for equality
by Naharnet Newsdesk 07 March 2025, 12:22 Thirty years after world leaders adopted a historic blueprint to achieve gender equality, a new United Nations report says women's and girls' rights are under attack and gender discrimination remains deeply embedded in economies and societies. The report released Thursday by the U.N. agency focused on women's rights and gender equality found that nearly one-quarter of governments worldwide reported a backlash to women's rights last year. The number of countries reporting a backlash is likely underreported and reflects "an increasingly hostile environment," UN Women's policy and program director Sarah Hendriks said at a news conference. "It is not a new phenomenon," she said. "What is new is that it's gaining in greater speed and scale and velocity," especially in very patriarchal and traditional nations where men play a dominant role. The 35 countries reporting a backlash on gender equality came from across the globe and include Spain, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Philippines, Brazil, Peru, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Australia, Mongolia, South Africa, Mali and Zimbabwe. Despite some progress, including on girls' education and access to family planning, UN Women said a woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a partner or family member and that cases of conflict-related sexual violence have increased by 50% since 2022. The report, released ahead of International Women's Day on Saturday, also noted that only 87 countries have ever been led by a woman. "Globally, women's human rights are under attack," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. "Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we're seeing the mainstreaming of misogyny." He said the world must stand firm "in making human rights, equality and empowerment a reality for all women and girls, for everyone, everywhere." The 189 countries that attended a 1995 Beijing women's conference adopted a landmark declaration and 150-page platform for action to achieve gender equality, calling for bold action in 12 areas, including combating poverty and gender-based violence and putting women at top levels in business, government and at peacemaking tables. It also said for the first time in a U.N. document that human rights include the right of women to control and decide "on matters relating to their sexuality, including their sexual and reproductive health, free of discrimination, coercion and violence." In the new review, which includes contributions from 159 countries, UN Women said countries have taken many steps forward on gender equality and women's rights in the past five years but that such rights still are facing growing threats worldwide. On the positive side, the report said some 88% of countries have passed laws to combat violence against women and established services to help victims in the past five years. Most countries have banned workplace discrimination, and 44% are improving the quality of education and training for girls and women, it said. Yet gender discrimination is deeply embedded, with wide gaps in power and resources that restrain women's rights, the report said. "The weakening of democratic institutions has gone hand in hand with backlash on gender equality," UN Women said. It warned that "anti-rights actors are actively undermining longstanding consensus on key women's rights issues" and seeking to block or slow legal and policy gains they can't roll back. UN Women said almost 25% of countries reported that backlash on gender equality is hampering implementation of the Beijing platform. According to the report, women have only 64% of the legal rights of men, and while the proportion of female lawmakers has more than doubled since 1995, three-quarters of lawmakers are still men. UN Women also said women aged 15 to 24 lag behind other age groups on access to modern family planning; maternal mortality ratios have remained almost unchanged since 2015; and 10% of women and girls live in extremely poor households. The U.N. agency said cases of conflict-related sexual violence have increased 50% since 2022 — and women and girls are victims of 95% of these crimes. UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said that based on the report's findings, the agency has adopted a roadmap to bring the world closer to the U.N. goal of achieving gender equality by 2030. It calls for a digital revolution ensuring equal access to technology for all women and girls; investments in social protections, including universal health care and quality education to lift them out of poverty; and zero violence against girls and women. The roadmap also includes equal decision-making power for women and financing for "gender-responsive humanitarian aid" in conflicts and crises.
The Hill
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Women's rights are under attack 30 years after leaders adopted a blueprint for equality, UN says
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Thirty years after world leaders adopted a historic blueprint to achieve gender equality, a new United Nations report says women's and girls' rights are under attack and gender discrimination remains deeply embedded in economies and societies. The report released Thursday by the U.N. agency focused on women's rights and gender equality found that nearly one-quarter of governments worldwide reported a backlash to women's rights last year. The number of countries reporting a backlash is likely underreported and reflects 'an increasingly hostile environment,' UN Women's policy and program director Sarah Hendriks said at a news conference. 'It is not a new phenomenon,' she said. 'What is new is that it's gaining in greater speed and scale and velocity,' especially in very patriarchal and traditional nations where men play a dominant role. The 35 countries reporting a backlash on gender equality came from across the globe and include Spain, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Philippines, Brazil, Peru, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Australia, Mongolia, South Africa, Mali and Zimbabwe. Despite some progress, including on girls' education and access to family planning, UN Women said a woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a partner or family member and that cases of conflict-related sexual violence have increased by 50% since 2022. The report, released ahead of International Women's Day on Saturday, also noted that only 87 countries have ever been led by a woman. 'Globally, women's human rights are under attack,' U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. 'Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we're seeing the mainstreaming of misogyny.' He said the world must stand firm 'in making human rights, equality and empowerment a reality for all women and girls, for everyone, everywhere.' The 189 countries that attended a 1995 Beijing women's conference adopted a landmark declaration and 150-page platform for action to achieve gender equality, calling for bold action in 12 areas, including combating poverty and gender-based violence and putting women at top levels in business, government and at peacemaking tables. It also said for the first time in a U.N. document that human rights include the right of women to control and decide 'on matters relating to their sexuality, including their sexual and reproductive health, free of discrimination, coercion and violence.' In the new review, which includes contributions from 159 countries, UN Women said countries have taken many steps forward on gender equality and women's rights in the past five years but that such rights still are facing growing threats worldwide. On the positive side, the report said some 88% of countries have passed laws to combat violence against women and established services to help victims in the past five years. Most countries have banned workplace discrimination, and 44% are improving the quality of education and training for girls and women, it said. Yet gender discrimination is deeply embedded, with wide gaps in power and resources that restrain women's rights, the report said. 'The weakening of democratic institutions has gone hand in hand with backlash on gender equality,' UN Women said. It warned that 'anti-rights actors are actively undermining longstanding consensus on key women's rights issues' and seeking to block or slow legal and policy gains they can't roll back. UN Women said almost 25% of countries reported that backlash on gender equality is hampering implementation of the Beijing platform. According to the report, women have only 64% of the legal rights of men, and while the proportion of female lawmakers has more than doubled since 1995, three-quarters of lawmakers are still men. UN Women also said women aged 15 to 24 lag behind other age groups on access to modern family planning; maternal mortality ratios have remained almost unchanged since 2015; and 10% of women and girls live in extremely poor households. The U.N. agency said cases of conflict-related sexual violence have increased 50% since 2022 — and women and girls are victims of 95% of these crimes. UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said that based on the report's findings, the agency has adopted a roadmap to bring the world closer to the U.N. goal of achieving gender equality by 2030. It calls for a digital revolution ensuring equal access to technology for all women and girls; investments in social protections, including universal health care and quality education to lift them out of poverty; and zero violence against girls and women. The roadmap also includes equal decision-making power for women and financing for 'gender-responsive humanitarian aid' in conflicts and crises. ___
