We’re experiencing the “mainstreaming of misogyny” globally, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Combined with talk of “World War Three” in the White House last week, major weather events growing more intense and the breakdown of social cohesion and democratic institutions globally, there are many concerns to raise on International Women’s Day this year.
IWD provides an opportunity for such discussions. But it must also be a springboard for collective action today, tomorrow and every day following.
Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the United National’s International Women’s Day and thirty years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was delivered, offering a strong roadmap on women’s rights, based on feedback from 159 governments at the time.
In three decades, there has been important progress, including on girls’ education and in dropping rates of maternal mortality. Women’s representation in parliaments has doubled, and 1,531 legal reforms have been passed across 180 countries and territories that have removed discriminatory laws.
These are brilliant wins, and things to celebrate.
But they are wins overshadowed by current world events. The breakdown of social cohesion. Conflict in the Middle East, in Europe and the Sudan. The loss of major funding via USAID to critical services for women and children globally. Ever-increasing abuses of women’s rights in places like Afghanistan. And at home in Australia, the current populist rhetoric attacking everything from women’s reproductive rights to access to working from home.
One in four countries globally experienced a backlash against women’s rights in 2024, according to today’s report by UN Women.
Only 87 countries have ever been led by a woman. A woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a partner or a family member.
There has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of women and girls living in conflict areas.
As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said about recent events, “Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we’re seeing the mainstreaming of misogyny.”
He has called on everyone to make human rights, equality and empowerment a reality for all women and girls.
“When women and girls can rise, we all thrive,” he said.
The positive figures above prove that enabling more women and girls to thrive happens with collective, determined action.
Just look at this week in Australia: we have data on the gender pay gaps of more than 9000 employers thanks to tireless efforts over many years to legislate reporting requirements into existence.
We have 64 strong recommendations for making justice for sexual assault victims more accessible, thanks to the relentless advocacy work of victim-survivors.
We have both major parties in Australia issuing strong funding commitments on women’s health, thanks to lobbying efforts so often from women suffering from disease and disabilities have been overlooked, misdiagnosed and sidelined for centuries.
We have the potential for universal childcare in Australia, thanks to campaigning and analysis on the benefits of such education on outcomes for children.
These examples are just from the past week. They prove change is possible. Maybe that change is small and frustratingly slow. But nothing happens at all with absolute despair.
Check out UN Women’s report here.
Pictured above: Anti Femicide protesters marching on the streets demonstrating against the rise of femicide cases in Kenya, taken in October 2024.