This year, International Women’s Day is apparently all about accelerating action. The idea is to speed up change and reach gender equality before the projected 2158. However, this seems even further away at the moment as so much of the progress made throughout the last century is under threat thanks to extreme right-wing movements and governments around the world. It goes far beyond overturning Roe vs Wade and there are now increasingly frightening possibilities openly being discussed, added to this the usual level of inaction and 2158 seems hopeful.

My Body, My Choice

Reproductive freedom and women’s right to chose was the most significant victory that has placed us on the path to gender equality. It empowered women to take control of their body and in turn the rest of their life. It has saved millions of lives from complications and unsafe procedures. It has allowed so many women to break free of economic control and pursue their own careers. Whether through the access to contraception, the morning after pill or abortion the right of women to chose gave options that were impossible before. However the overturning of Roe Vs Wade seemed to scuttle all this in an instant as it open the flood gates for men to reassert control.

We have seen since June 2022 the introduction of legislation across the states that not only criminalise abortions but will persecute those attempting to flee over the boarders. We have seen suggestions that male partners should report women suspect of seeking abortions. We have seen suggestions in Australia to recriminalize abortion. We are starteing to see a movement to restrict access to contraception. All of this is designed to take us back and force women back into traditional roles not by choice but through necessity. It is a sickening trend that reduces fertile women to a reproductive role and cares little for their health and safety. It is the domino that will prevent women from maintaining economic freedom, from attending tertiary education and from being free.

The Vote

Currently, every country with the exception of Vatican city (personally I’m not sure I really count this) allow women to vote. It is worth noting that some countries like Brunei repress voting equally or in the case of the UAE only allow a very small amount of people to vote. Even in practice of course the ability for women to equally exercise these rights freely is perhaps less wide spread as countries like Egypt require ID which is often a block for more women to vote. despite this it is one area that this has definitely seen noticeable progress around the world in the last century. It’s importance can not be over stated as it allows women an active say in the way countries are run and therefore means that governments need to cater more directly for women’s issues like abortion. So it is no real surprise that the two have been inexplicably linked in many countries.

Unfortunately, last year US election unbelievably seemed to put suffrage up for discussion. Republicans and those drinking the MAGA cool aid were claiming that women shouldn’t have a vote. This was primary due to Trump’s unpopularity with female demographics but it brought up all the old arguments. Women are hysterical, women don’t know anything about politics and women aren’t interested in voting. The fact that the VP candidate JD Vance even voiced a belief that ‘crazy cat ladies’ shouldn’t have a say in how the country is run and their voices are less important than those women with children was disgusting and should have cost the election. Now that Trump and his band of sycophants are in power I feel as the mid terms get closer we may be seeing some different executive orders.

Education

Access to equal and quality education is a transformative opportunity as it allows generations to break through boundaries and change their situation. This has been true for breaking down the historical barriers between social classes and decreasing economic disadvantage. It is why the UN declaration of Human Rights includes education as a fundamental right. However, as recently as 2023 UN experts concluded that 130 Million girls were denied an education. This was highlighted by the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan which became the only country to completely outlaw secondary education for girls. This of course doesn’t necessarily represent the full reality of the world with families prioritising schooling for boys or other expectations connected to raising children culturally preventing girls accessing equal opportunities even where education is possible.

This unequal access to schooling means that millions of girls have limited career opportunities and never have the chance to attend tertiary intuitions. Ultimately this prevents girls from even being able to aspire for something more and dream that they can be doctors or lawyers. This absence of hope or awareness means girls are forced to accept the situation as normal. They are trapped within the narrow parameters of traditional gender roles with access to a limited pool of job options and economically dependent on men. Considering in Australia where everyone has access to education the gender pay gap is still 78c per $1 even when women have opportunities for an education there is still the potential for economic dependence. It is often this dependence and economic control that contributes to occurrence of domestic violence as women find themselves unable to escape.

Gender based violence

Despite all the progress over the last century violence against women is continues to be a large scale problem around the world. As of November 2024 an estimated 736 million women (almost one in three) have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate violence. The sad truth that continues to be poorly targeted by Governments is that the majority of violence is perpetrated by intimate partners and family members. In 2023 alone more than 50 000 women and girls were killed by partners or other family members. In Australia in 2024 physical or sexual violence perpetrated by a partner effected 1 in 4 women, yet we have a candidate for Prime Minster Peter Dutton that is sick and tired of demonising young men. It seem like these people just wish to ignore the stats that suggest there is obviously a large portion of males that don’t respect women and treat us as objects. The fact that 2024 was the worst year for women killed in gender based violence in Australia shows an alarming trend and is being feed by the growing prevalence of misogynist rhetoric in social media and politicians that play off this for votes. The fact that Australia would be one of the safest countries in the world should be an alarming reality.

Women and girls are also heavily represented in the victims of human trafficking around the world which finds an estimated 49.6 million people currently in some form of modern slavery, including forced marriages and sex slavery. We sometimes like to think this is a problem for the developed world by it is estimated that 199 000 incidents occur in the US every year. In 2024 their were 6691 sex trafficking cases reported across the United States which is more than enough to be concerned about except authorities know that reported cases only represent a small snap shot of the reality. Gender based Violence and human trafficking are were governments should be focusing if they really cared about women’s safety but continues to pretty low down on priorities probably because it requires a major shift in the patriarchal attitude that most of these leaders depend on.

Attacks on Trans women

Instead of forming policies or looking at the real problems effecting women right wing governments and politicians around the world are targeting Trans women as a smoke screen for their inaction. These policies banning trans women from public bathrooms or sport are all being promoted as acts to ‘Protect women and girls’. Not only does this deny our existence as the persist in labelling us as men but also has not actual basis in factual evidence. The most recent research suggesting that when it comes to sport Trans women actually seem to have a disadvantage but also gender violence perpetrated in bathrooms  account for a tiny, 0.00038%, of all attacks in the USA from 1999 to 2017. These are scams that have become go to tactic of right wing movements to target a minority that they don’t like due to the challenge of the patriarch system. A system perpetrated on the lie that males are superior and therefore struggle to deal with people like me who reject this mentality to be our true selves.

The truth behind these attacks is that it is more than a smoke screen. It is a means of reinforcing the gender stereotypes and traditional roles that conservatives want. These campaigns and the implementation of bans harm all women as anyone who doesn’t fit a feminine ideal becomes a target for transvestigators. Women who are tall, muscler, have short hair, dress in a more ‘masculine’ way, or any number of traits are being harassed by conservatives. This means that through negative reinforcement, they are encouraged to conform.  Beyond this, however, there is now starting to be serious conversations and legislation to implement genital inspection. This does nothing to protect women or girls but to reduce all of us to our reproductive organs and an object to be examined. Women wrapped up in this dangerous rhetoric and anti-trans paranoia need open their eyes or risk the gradual decline of their freedom.

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