MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UN report says women's rights scanty in 25% of countries

The UN also noted that for 89% of governments, ending violence against women was a top priority today

A United Nations (UN) report published Thursday showed women’s rights weakened in 25% of countries worldwide last year, driven by factors such as climate change, democratic decline, and anti-rights movements. The document highlights a backlash against gender equality, undermining progress as per the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action.

While female representation in parliaments has doubled since 1995, men still dominate, making up 75% of parliamentarians. In addition, social protection for women has increased by a third since 2010, yet 2 billion women and girls lack such benefits, the study also found. Gender employment gaps remain unchanged, with 63% of women aged 25-54 in paid work compared to 92% of men.

The study also spotted new threats to gender equality, including the Covid-19 pandemic, global conflicts, climate change, and technologies like AI.

In addition, conflict-related sexual violence has risen 50% in the last decade, with 95% of victims being children or young women. Some 612 million women lived near armed conflict zones in 2023, a 54% increase since 2010.

Online gender-based violence is also rampant, affecting over 53% of women in 12 European and Central Asian countries. Globally, one in three women faces physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

The UN proposes a roadmap to tackle these issues, including equitable tech access, climate justice, poverty reduction, increased public participation, and efforts to combat gendered violence.

The UN also noted that for 89% of governments, ending violence against women was a top priority today, and 193 countries have legal measures against it. Data shows that countries with domestic violence laws have seen fewer cases of violence against women, the UN also mentioned.

Still on the brighter side, most of the world has reached parity in education, thus clearing the remaining bottlenecks to equal opportunities.

The global organization also detected that more States have strengthened care services, and 32% of countries globally now promote better pay and safe working conditions for care workers.

There are 112 countries with a national plan to engage women in peace and security processes, a significant increase from 19 countries in 2010.

The report was published on the eve of International Women's Day to be celebrated March 8.