And when you take away women’s freedom of expression and association, it brings down whole communities, no matter people’s gender. The fact that women’s rights are human rights is not just a slogan, it’s a lived reality. You can see these shortfalls in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group’s advance this year has triggered a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Sexual violence is being committed by all parties to the conflict, but survivors have barely any support and services.
Building a healthier world by women and for women is key to achieving gender equality
- Well-functioning health systems are the foundation of gender equality.
- Additionally, the Trump administration’s attacks against diversity, equity, and inclusion DEI for women in the workplace will be particularly harmful for Black, Latina, and Indigenous women.
- While we hope there will be conditions for survivors to seek justice, their immediate needs must be urgently addressed.
- We will keep our antennas up and will be ready to surface things that may not be obvious to the general public.
- It would be the first time a case has been brought before the court under this treaty.
The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor requested the court issue arrest warrants against two Taliban leaders for the crime against humanity of gender persecution. Other countries are pressing Afghanistan to cease its violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Afghan women are leading a campaign to create gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, and several countries are supporting this call. Women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the healthcare crisis. The Taliban’s ban on women’s employment and restrictions on their movement outside the home have compounded the crisis by creating additional discriminatory obstacles to delivering and receiving assistance on an equal basis.
The problem is invisible because there is often no data gathered by governments, no training for medical personnel around this issue, and no budgets allocated to prevent obstetric violence. By asserting dominance and seeking to reinforce patriarchal power through controlling women’s bodies and identities, the Taliban act as a gendered moral authority in Afghanistan, seeking to push women and girls ever further out of public life. This is part of a larger system Afghan women’s rights defenders and United Nations experts call “gender apartheid.” Women are forced indoors by being excluded from employment, education, and freedom of movement. Every time women find ways to bargain with these misogynistic rules, the Taliban crack down harder.
Clinical management of rape and intimate partner violence survivors
In most cases, Taliban authorities did not provide any information about the basis for these arrests or if those in custody would face trial. Detainees also lacked access to lawyers; in most cases even their family members were not allowed to visit them. Also, during his first term, Trump cut US funding for the United Nations Population Fund, which supports family planning worldwide. In Latin America, we have seen amazing progress on reproductive rights thanks to a coordinated cross-country movement called the green wave.
We should also look at how changes to freedom of expression and censorship will affect women and LGBT people. At least 16 states already have provisions restricting LGBT content in schools. What type of education will children in schools get about human rights?
Migrants and Refugees Health film prize
Ensure gender-based violence prevention and response measures are integrated and funded as an essential standard in humanitarian responses. Understanding and addressing the specific health risks and needs adolescents face today is key to improving their future health, as well as for broader social and economic stability. On May 18, ISKP issued a statement threatening NGOs, media, and foreign aid agencies. Those arriving in Afghanistan faced severe economic hardship, and a lack of housing and access to schools. On September 26, Jawed Kohistani, a well-known political analyst was detained by Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) in Kabul and was released on October 15. LGBT people in Afghanistan faced persecution and serious ill treatment that could amount to torture because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Alarmingly, malnutrition among pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and adolescent girls has surged by 25% since 2020 in the 12 countries hardest hit by the global food and nutrition crisis, affecting 6.9 million women and girls. In 2020, during the first Trump term, the US led and co-signed the Geneva Consensus Declaration. While the declaration’s full name includes the phrase “promoting women’s health and strengthening the family,” its real intention was to ban abortion and promote a stereotypical, traditional idea of women. Biden withdrew US support to the declaration, which has mostly been backed by governments with terrible women’s and human rights records. There is finally an understanding that women are mostly in charge of caring for children and supporting older people or for people who need support to carry out daily activities.
Your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world.
Named for the green bandanas women wear during massive reproductive rights marches, the green wave is an example of activism that has occupied the streets, courts, legislatures, and kitchens. There is no space where women are not organized and ready to fight back. There’s a high risk of abortion rights being rolled back even further. After the Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional abortion protection, many states quickly restricted or banned abortion. Other states took the opposite approach and enshrined abortion rights in their constitutions. But this administration could use federal power to further restrict abortions even in states with constitutional amendments and state laws protecting abortion rights.
I grew up in Chile during a military dictatorship, and it was women who organized the neighborhood spaces of resistance through “common pots” where people would cook together to fight hunger while also forming political spaces. That said, we have to be optimistic about the power of people’s voices. In 2024, when people in US states got measuresto protect women’s abortion rights on election ballots, most were successful. In Mexico, states have been progressively decriminalizing abortion both through the courts and legislature, and last year its largest state, the State of Mexico, followed suit. Mexico also passed a constitutional amendment to guarantee equal payment and gender parity in federal and state government positions. Call on all parties to meet their obligations to prevent violence against women and girls during emergencies, and protect access to essential services that meet the needs of survivors.
Bans on secondary and university education for girls and women have also meant a shortage of women healthcare workers. Yes, things look bad higher up the political ladder from the perspective of women’s participation. In the United States, less than 30 percent of the members of congress are women. Women’s participation in local communities is the basis for making changes at national and international levels, too. After Roe vs. Wade fell in the United States, women began organizing on a state-by-state basis to protect their rights. In many parts of the world, including the United States, grassroots movements and city-specific organizations are likely to have more female participation.
- Every time women find ways to bargain with these misogynistic rules, the Taliban crack down harder.
- In addition, WHO is calling for all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect women and girls from gender-based violence and ensure access to essential health services.
- To create truly equitable and effective health systems, women must be at the forefront – not just as caregivers but as leaders and decision-makers.
- Mexico also passed a constitutional amendment to guarantee equal payment and gender parity in federal and state government positions.
“No matter what tactics or power authorities use, we will still find ways to go out. On September 2, ISKP carried out a suicide attack outside the Taliban’s prosecution office, killing at least 21 people, most of them civilians. The killings women and wine drinking limits took place in a remote border district between Daikundi, which has a predominantly Hazara population, and Ghor provinces. ISKP claimed responsibility for an April 29 attack in which a gunman opened fire on worshippers inside the Shia Sahib-u-Zaman mosque in Guzara district, Herat province, killing six people.
On January 6, ISKP claimed responsibility for an attack on a passenger bus in the in Dasht-e Barchi area, a predominantly Hazara neighborhood in Kabul, that killed at least 5 and wounded 20 people.
Gender equality has long been framed as a threat to traditional families. Trump has indicated that he would like to eliminate the Department of Education, which issues guidance on how anti-discrimination laws apply to groups of students, including girls, LGBT students, and racial minorities. While it would take an act of Congress to eliminate the Education Department, Trump could take action that would increase the likelihood that children receive biased or no education about gender equality.
But it also highlights the subtle ways women and girls resist in day-to-day life, bargaining with patriarchy, and claiming some agency and ownership. As the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on Women – a landmark blueprint for gender equality – progress remains frustratingly slow. If we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we must place women at the centre of global health transformation.
Violence against women remains a global crisis, severely impacting their health and well-being. One in three women worldwide experiences physical or sexual violence, and the health-care sector itself is not immune. Nearly a quarter of all workplace violence occurs in health and care settings, with women disproportionately affected. Additionally, social determinants such as income, education, and nutrition further widen the health gap for women and girls.
