I had the pleasure of participating in this year’s Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in March of 2025 as part of WILPF’s Local to Global Program. It felt to me like the question permeating the gathering was where we are in relation to the Beijing Platform announced in 1995 and the more comprehensive Resolution 1325, the Convention on Eliminating All Forms Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The proclamation from the Beijing Conference was, “Women’s rights are human rights, and human rights are women’s rights.”

The United Nations website describes the Beijing Platform this way:

“The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is a visionary agenda for the empowerment of women … Adopted by consensus in 1995 following the mobilization of over 40,000 government delegates, experts and civil society representatives at the Fourth World Conference on Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action embodies the commitment of the international community to achieve gender equality and to provide better opportunities for women and girls. The platform of action responds to the collective effort of women and girls around the globe who have fought to achieve gender equality and women’s rights and acts as a continuum of the international community’s commitment to address civil, political, social, economic and cultural inequalities. It remains relevant today, affirming that women’s rights are human rights and that equality between women and men benefits everyone.”

Five years later, Resolution 1325 CEDAW was ratified. The United Nations website provides this description of the resolution for Women, Peace, and Security:

“The Security Council adopted the resolution (S/RES/1325) on women and peace and security on 31 October 2000. The resolution reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.Resolution 1325 urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts. It also calls on all parties in conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, in situations of armed conflict.”

You might ask why this platform and resolution are important. Both insist that everyone benefits from living in a society that promotes and protects women’s rights. Key to the development of any country or society is the full and equal participation of women and men. Strict conformity to gender roles stifles men, women, and trans or non-binary people. Resolution 1325 CEDAW goes further than the Beijing Platform by insisting that women be at the table for decision-making and peacebuilding. It challenges us to view security not as boots on the ground but as having human needs met, such as education, health care, housing, and environmental health.

Sadly, we must admit that 25 and 30 years later, we not only have a long way to go to achieve these goals, but worse, we are seeing a serious backlash. The backlash is not only in places like Afghanistan, where the Taliban forbid girls from going to school beyond age 12, but here in the US. We have seen increased military spending for the last decade. Reproductive rights have been eroded. Basic services are being cut. Trans rights are under attack. In 23 states, girls under the age of 18 can be married in violation of international law, which has determined that youth under the age of 18 do not have sufficient maturity to make such a significant life decision.

The logical question is: what went wrong? WILPF international has insisted that we need to engage men as partners in building a feminist culture of peace. Nicaragua is now a champion of gender equality. Half of their parliament is composed of women from a variety of backgrounds. They promote gender equality in their early education programs, and they have strict laws against domestic violence. 

Pax with non-profit partner ABAAD published a report focused on women in the Middle East. They assert that “gender equality is an important indicator for stability and sustainable peace.” They further claim that “the drivers of anti-gender backlash are multifaceted and deeply intertwined with regional dynamics, political influences and social factors.” For instance, they mention male soldiers returning home and expecting to resume their place as head of household when their wives have become providers and decision-makers in their absence. Religious norms that require women to remain in the home or wear conservative dress are also problematic.

Under these repressive conditions, women in the Middle East continue to struggle for equality with creative strategies, including:

• Adaption of language in a culturally acceptable way.
• Diplomatic engagement and advocacy to create alleys at decision-making levels.
• Community-centered programming where open communication, non-violence, and men’s participation in caregiving are promoted.
• Strategic engagement with religious and political leaders. From 2020 to 2021, Lebanon launched a national campaign that declared, “Nothing justified violence against women, not even stress and anger.”
• Develop good communication with political leaders and local and national authorities.
• Engage men, especially moderate men who are community leaders.
• Creative communication strategies to circumvent censorship.
• Coalition building and solidarity for mutual support and pooling resources.
• Bottom-up mobilization, as it is sometimes more effective to work locally.
• Strategic withdrawal and adaptation. Gauge risk and act accordingly.

If we are to move forward, we need to do so with our eyes open. Acknowledging and examining the causes of the backlash are good places to begin. In a time of repression, we may need to look to our sisters and trans partners in more repressive places to figure out how to move forward. They have and continue to stand up under much harsher conditions. We can draw strength from them as we strive to create a more peaceful and just world.

Sources:

United Nations website information

Countering Anti-Gender Backlash, Learning Brief: Strengthening Civil Courage in Times of Anti-Gender Backlash – Pax Netherland Peace Foundation, October 2024