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The Herald Scotland
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Stars shine the spotlight on our need for women's rights
Last month, against the backdrop of a world grappling with crises, the Royal Albert Hall was transformed into a stage of unity, power, and hope. Sisters: Annie Lennox & Friends, the first-ever concert of its kind, brought together an extraordinary line-up of artists, including Beverley Knight, Hozier, and Paloma Faith, to raise funds for The Circle, a global feminist organisation founded 17 years ago by Lennox and other leading women. More than just a charity, The Circle is a movement – a force for change rooted in the belief that women's rights are human rights. Since 2008, it has worked tirelessly to support women and girls facing gender-based violence and economic inequality across the world. From the moment the first note was played, the atmosphere was electric. The concert felt like a beacon of light, igniting hope and strength in a time of darkness. Legends of music stood side by side with rising stars, amplifying a single, unshakable message: women supporting women can change the world. The night was filled with performances that stirred the soul, including a breath taking rendition of Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves by Lennox – an anthem that has defined feminist movements for decades. Reflecting on the event, Livia Firth, founding member and ambassador for The Circle, described it as: 'So inspiring and uplifting – just what we all needed.' And indeed, as voices united in song, there was an overwhelming feeling that collective action is not just powerful – it's unstoppable. The urgency of this initiative cannot be overstated. More than 300 million women and girls live in extreme poverty, and one in three women will experience violence in their lifetime. Despite global efforts, progress on gender equality has stalled – one in three countries has made no advancements since 2015, while in 18 nations including Venezuela, Afghanistan and South Africa, conditions for women have worsened. At the current pace, achieving global gender equality will take another 131 years, according to World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2023. This is unacceptable. The latest UN Women report published last month, Women's Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing, also presents a sobering reality. While gains have been made – such as increased female political representation and reductions in maternal mortality – women's and girls' rights are facing unprecedented threats. Nearly a quarter of governments report a backlash against gender equality. (Image: Photographer Misan Harriman) Digital platforms are amplifying harmful stereotypes, the digital gender gap continues to limit opportunities for women, and women's rights defenders face harassment, violence, and even death. Global crises, including Covid-19, climate change, and surging food and fuel prices, only exacerbated these challenges. 'When women and girls can rise, we all thrive, yet globally, women's human rights are under attack. Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we're seeing the mainstreaming of misogyny,' warned UN secretary-general António Guterres. UN Women executive director Sima Bahous reinforced this urgency, stating: 'Complex challenges stand in the way of gender equality and women's empowerment, but we remain steadfast, pushing forward with ambition and resolve. Women and girls are demanding change – and they deserve nothing less.' Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most ambitious global roadmap for gender equality. In response, the UN's new Beijing+30 Action Agenda outlines six key priorities for transformative change: ensuring equal access to digital technology, eradicating poverty, ending violence against women, increasing women's decision-making power, prioritising women's roles in peace and security, and achieving climate justice. Across all these areas, one truth is undeniable: centring women and girls in decision-making is the only path to meaningful progress. Compounding these challenges is the fact that many countries are rolling back on international aid, leaving women's rights organisations with even fewer resources. As government support dwindles, the role of NGOs like The Circle becomes even more critical. These organisations are often the only lifeline for women facing violence, discrimination, and economic hardship. Without sustained funding, progress on gender equality risks being reversed. Raakhi Shah, CEO of The Circle, reinforced the critical need for immediate action: 'The rollback of women's rights is a huge deal. Funding is vital and critical right now.' The shocking reality is that less than 1% of global development funding goes to women's rights organisations – the very groups working on the frontlines to dismantle inequality. The Circle is committed to changing this, directly funding grass-roots, women-led initiatives in some of the world's most vulnerable regions, including Afghanistan, South Sudan, and conflict zones where gender-based violence is rampant. Over the past 17 years, The Circle has directly supported more than 1.4 million people on women's rights and empowered over 700,000 women and girls facing violence, discrimination, and fear. These numbers are staggering, but they represent only the beginning of what needs to be done. This concert was not only to raise awareness but to raise funds to help women most impacted. Annie Lennox said: 'It was truly amazing to bring women and allies together, to find inspiration and community in each other, as well as raising much-needed funds to support our outstanding female-led organisations around the world.' Strengthening the power of women's rights organisations through long-term financial support is essential to advancing gender equality and building a safer, fairer future for all. Nadine Shah, another performer at the event, echoed this sentiment: 'I fully support The Circle's mission statement to persevere to ensure a future where there is equality and safety for all women and girls. If Annie asks you to do something … you do it.' As we reflect on the impact of Sisters: Annie Lennox & Friends, one thing is clear: this is not just about policy change or government intervention – it's about all of us. Whether through activism, advocacy, donating, or simply standing in solidarity, every single person has a role to play. As The Circle has proven time and again, when women stand together, change is not just possible – it is inevitable. For me, and for women across the globe, sweet dreams are made of this: a world where equality is not just a dream, but a destiny within our reach. Now is the time to act, to amplify, and to stand in solidarity with Annie all our sisters – because gender equality cannot wait another 131 years. n Dr Antoinette Fionda-Douglas is co-founder of Beira, and assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University
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.
