In South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa made news in mid-2019 when he appointed a Cabinet that included as many women as men. Later the same year, the European Commission also achieved the European Union’s self-imposed goal of gender parity. The thinking behind gender parity in government is that with greater levels of representation, women policymakers and legislators will pay more attention to issues that are often ignored by men, like gender-based violence or inheritance laws that discriminate against women.
Quotas are not a panacea, though. Even with increased representation, policymakers must figure out how to turn good intentions into change on the ground, so that removing restrictions on education, to take one example, actually leads to improved school attendance rates for girls and young women. Rwanda, for instance, also has gender quotas for political representation, but the increase in political gains has not necessarily translated to social advances for women, as efforts to promote gender equality have not fostered an understanding of its importance, particularly among men.
And in places where women’s rights have advanced, they face persistent attacks. In the United States, a woman’s right to choose to terminate her pregnancy has been severely curtailed in some parts of the country. European countries, particularly France and Spain, have experienced high-profile incidents of gender-based violence and sexual assault that activists say call into question their commitment to ensuring women’s safety. More recently, the public health measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic, particularly lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders, have further highlighted the particular challenges women face in developed and developing countries alike, from domestic violence to gender imbalances in child care responsibilities.
WPR has covered women’s rights in detail and continues to examine key questions about what will happen next. Will more countries institute quotas to guarantee female political representation? Will Argentina’s recent legalization of abortion lead other countries in Latin America and across the Global South to follow suit? And what can governments do to make sure their post-pandemic economic recovery plans don’t widen gaps in gender equality? Below are some of the highlights of WPR’s coverage.
In December, Argentina became the fourth country in Latin America to legalize abortion. What made the vote especially meaningful is that it was the result of a massive feminist political mobilization that, through its transnational connections, will continue to shape social and gender politics throughout the region moving forward.
Confronting Gender-Based Violence
The #MeToo movement drew global attention to the scale of sexual harassment and gender-based violence that women regularly face in developed countries. A similar effort in the Global South has been slower to take shape, in part because accusations of violence and harassment are not taken seriously and the avenues to seek redress are not formalized. But recent protests in several developing countries suggest the issue is gaining traction as a focus of political debates.
The Politics of Women’s Rights
Increasingly, the fight for women’s rights has become a mainstream political issue in many countries around the world. But legal advances don’t necessary bring societal change. And hard-won gains often face a backlash, with the pandemic raising new fears of a widespread regression in women’s economic progress.
Reproductive Rights
The push by southern U.S. states to virtually eliminate access to abortion underscores the constant tension that exists around the issue of reproductive rights. But those debates are not limited solely to access to abortion, as women and women’s rights activists around the world push for access to a broad array of reproductive health services, including contraception and other family planning tools. Though since reversed by the Biden administration, the enforcement under former President Donald Trump of the so-called U.S. global gag rule—which places restrictions on American aid for organizations that provide or recommend abortion services—hurt some of those efforts, forcing reproductive health organizations operating outside the United States to choose between providing abortion services or accepting U.S. funds.
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