The great reversal: A decade of losing ground on women's rights

At the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), held last month, a grim picture emerged of the setbacks that have eroded women’s rights over the past decade.

While significant progress had been made in previous years, recent events have reversed many hard-won gains, leaving gender equality advocates alarmed. These rollbacks jeopardise the likelihood of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Read more: Covid-19 reversing GBV steps

UN Women posted on X on March 10, 2025, at the start of CSW69: “No more setbacks! Women’s & girls’ rights are facing unprecedented threats worldwide.”

Major setbacks in the past decade (2015–25)

A surge in gender-based violence

Domestic violence, femicide, and sexual violence have surged worldwide.

Online harassment and digital violence

According to UN Women, anti-rights actors are increasingly using online spaces to push back women’s rights, creating a hostile digital environment. Cyberbullying, harassment, and threats of violence disproportionately target women human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, and women engaged in public life.

Further, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence has intensified violence against women and girls by facilitating the spread of targeted disinformation and the proliferation of image-based abuse, including deepfake pornographic videos. A 2022 study by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate found a 59 per cent increase in violent rhetoric and content that encourages and excuses child sexual exploitation.

Rollback of reproductive rights

A significant setback occurred in 2022 when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, stripping away federal protections for abortion rights. On June 24, 2022, in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organisation, the court reversed five decades of legal precedent.

Additionally, the Guttmacher Institute reported that in the same year, state lawmakers introduced 563 measures aimed at restricting abortion access, with 50 of these restrictions becoming law.

Economic setbacks

The International Labour Organisation reported that there were 13 million fewer women in employment in 2021 than were in 2019 due to Covid-19, while men’s employment had recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Globally, between 2019 and 2020, women’s employment declined by 4.2 per cent, a loss of 54 million jobs, while men’s employment declined by 3.0 per cent, or 60 million jobs.

Erosion of human rights for women and girls

Since seizing power in 2021, Afghanistan's Taliban administration has rolled back hard-fought rights won by Afghan women and girls over two decades.

These restrictions include barring Afghan women from public parks, gyms, and fitness centres, shutting down beauty salons, allowing girls to attend school only up to age 12, banning women from most public sector jobs and employment with non-governmental organisations, and mandating buildings not to have windows overlooking spaces where women might sit or stand.

Women in conflict and displacement

According to UN Women, in 2023, over 170 armed conflicts were recorded. About 612 million women and girls lived within 50km of conflict zones, a 50 per cent increase from a decade ago. Conflict-related sexual violence surged by 50 per cent to 3,688 UN-verified cases. This includes the ongoing civil war in Yemen that began in 2014. 

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In Sudan, clashes erupted in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, leading to mass displacement. Ukraine has been facing a devastating crisis since Russia’s invasion in 2022. UN Women states: “We cannot afford any setbacks. We cannot wait another 30 years to fulfil the pledge for equality. 2025 is our turning point.”

mobiria@ke.nationmedia.com