Roundtable Women's Rights and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the House of Representatives

In preparation of the Roundtable Women’s Rights and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights on March 19th 2024 in the Dutch Parliament.

 

Globally, a growing number of governments advocate for equal rights and opportunities for women and men, for example through feminist foreign policies. It means support for women, men, young people and LGBTQI+ persons fighting for their rights in countries with autocratic and repressive regimes. It also means that countries listen better to what women's and youth organizations have to say and include that information in their decision-making. And that programme budgets can be distributed more fairly. So that women who provide emergency aid in Ukraine or Afghanistan, or who prevent young people in Kenya and Myanmar from being recruited by violent extremist groups, can continue their important work.  

 

Globally, the number of countries addressing the position and safety of women and girls in conflict and crisis also increases. For instance, 107 countries have a National Action Plan on how to improve women's participation in decision-making in crisis and conflict situations. And on how to increase the security of women and girls in armed conflict. These National Action Plans result from UN Security Council Resolution 1325, a resolution written 24 years ago together with women's organizations in among others Bosnia, Rwanda, and West Africa. 

 

And then there are countries like France: the first country in the world to include the right to safe abortion in its Constitution. And Colombia where Colombian sex workers are recognized as workers allowed to form trade unions.  

 

At the same time, we see stagnation and regression of achieved success. War, climate change, structural poverty, epidemics and pandemics, challenge continued support for equal opportunities and rights for women and girls. An example is tackling female genital mutilation: today, girls are one-third less likely to become victim of this harmful traditional practice than 30 years ago. But of the 31 countries where female genital mutilation occurs, 24 are in a fragile state. Once crises occur, programmes supporting the position of women and girls are often the first to be put on hold to make place for humanitarian aid. While disintegrated and impoverished communities often revert to harmful traditional practices precisely in crisis, for instance to marry off their daughter as soon as possible. The positive effects of the past 30 years are then undone.  

 

Also, with the improved position of women and girls in all their diversity, opposition is growing. Where women and LGBTQI+ persons demand their rights, or question power and traditions, we see organized opposition. And anti-gender and anti-rights movements are increasingly joining forces with xenophobic, conservative religious and violent extremist groups and regimes. From Russia to Ghana, Afghanistan to Argentina, Iraq to China, but also in Europe.  

 

Over 67 countries prohibit same-sex couples from loving each other. In at least 9 countries, it is forbidden to be yourself as a trans person. Over 129 million girls worldwide do not go to school because the government does not think it is that important. In Afghanistan, girls are prohibited to continue their school education and for women to work in many sectors. Turkey stepped out of the Istanbul Convention, a Treaty signed 10 years earlier in its own Istanbul between countries to combat violence against women. Hungary banned lessons on gender equality, in Iraq a fatwa was declared on the word 'gender', and in the US the federal constitutional right to safe abortion was overturned. In several states, women now risk imprisonment for a miscarriage or stillbirth.

 

This well-organized anti-rights movement employs the rhetoric that human rights are a 'Western concept'. That 'the West should not interfere' with the culture of others. It is an attempt to delegitimate universal human rights and misplaced cultural relativism. It is a slap in the face of Iranian and Afghan women who take to the streets to fight for self-determination when they know it could mean their deaths. A slap in the face of the indigenous woman in Guatemala, who opposes devastating fossil projects on behalf of her community. A slap in the face of the Ugandan gay activist, who is risking his life trying to get friends out of prison with legal aid. And a slap in the face of the Congolese religious leader trying to keep young people from being recruited by militias.  

 

At the same time, this movement attracts people by capitalizing on gender stereotypes. Such as 'real men' who are the heads of the household and protect their families. And 'real women' who are the primary caretakers of the children. Bolstered by the suggestion that women and LGBTQI+ people standing up for equal rights are no ‘true women and men’ and want to subvert traditional gender roles, harassment and (online) violence against individual female and LGBTQI+ politicians, journalists, writers, and human rights activists is on the rise. For instance, in a recent large-scale survey of 901 journalists in 125 countries, over 73% of female respondents explained they had experienced harassment and violence. 

The impact of hatred, intimidation, and violence against women in decision-making positions or women standing up for their equal rights is significant. Women politicians and journalists are more likely to quit or choose to remain silent. Research shows that peace processes in which women participate are 20-35% more successful. But increasingly, women are banned from the negotiating table, as in Yemen, where women were still negotiating in 2014 and are now no longer welcome. In countries like Afghanistan, where women are no longer adequately trained to become doctors while women are not allowed to be examined by male doctors, women and girls are deprived of adequate health care. 

 

Hatred, intimidation, and violence against women and LGBTQI+ persons emerge where autocratic regimes and extremist conservative groups become stronger or want to retain power. Isolating and suppressing groups in weaker social positions gives their own group meaning, identity and purpose. Increasing violence against women and LGBTQI+ persons is therefore also an early warning indicator of social instability and violent extremism. Increased misogyny, harassment, and violence, downplaying of this behavior by social groups or political decisions makers, and glorification of traditional gender norms and behavior is therefore the proverbial 'canary in the coal mine' for a country's stability and good governance.  

 

We therefore recommend: