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The Global Regression of Women’s Rights
The Global Regression of Women’s Rights
From Legal Setbacks to Cultural Backlash: The Global Regression of Women’s Rights and How We Can Move Forward
The Ongoing Struggle for Women’s Rights
Throughout history, the struggle for women’s rights has seen victories and setbacks. From the suffrage movement of the early 20th century to the MeToo movement of today, women have fought tirelessly for equality and autonomy. However, in recent years, we’re witnessing a troubling trend: a rollback of hard-won rights and an increase in cultural pressures that keep women from progressing. This isn’t just happening in one country or area; it’s a global regression, affecting various aspects of women’s lives, from legal rights and social expectations to body image and mental health.
This article explores the ways in which women’s rights are facing new challenges across the world, the cultural forces amplifying these issues, and why we need to stay vigilant and united to protect the progress we’ve made.
Legal Setbacks Across the Globe: Erosion of Rights in Law
Iraq and Afghanistan: A Regressive Shift in Women’s Rights
In Iraq, proposed amendments could lower the legal age of consent for girls to as young as nine, transferring judicial powers to religious authorities and limiting women’s rights to divorce, inheritance, and custody. Similarly, in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s return to power has devastated women’s rights. Girls are banned from attending school beyond sixth grade, and women are barred from most public life, reversing decades of progress.
Russia: Decriminalizing Domestic Abuse
In 2017, Russia amended its laws to decriminalize certain types of domestic violence, making it a civil offence to hit a family member, provided there are no broken bones or major injuries. This change has had devastating consequences for women, as it signals state approval of domestic violence, leaving victims with little recourse. That means that intimate partner violence, like rape, hitting, pushing, whipping…is not a crime, as long as the victim has no broken bones or has severe life-threatening injuries. Even if caught red-handed, the abuser would only get a warning or a fine of no more than 400 USD.
Poland: Restricting Reproductive Rights
Poland’s strict anti-abortion laws virtually banned abortion in 2020, even in cases of severe fetal abnormalities. This has forced women to seek illegal or international options for abortion, placing them in harm’s way and infringing on their reproductive autonomy.
The United States: Reproductive Rights Under Threat
The 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections for abortion rights, allowing individual states to impose their own restrictions. This has resulted in a patchwork of abortion laws, with many states enacting bans or severe restrictions, disproportionately impacting marginalized women.
Iran: Hijab Laws and the Suppression of Protest
Iran has cracked down on women’s freedoms since the death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained and killed for wearing her hijab “incorrectly.” The protests that followed were met with brutal suppression, further curbing women’s rights to expression and autonomy.
Malala Yousafzai Quotes
“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.”
“Do not wait for someone else to come and speak for you. It’s you who can change the world.”
Cultural Backlash: A Rise in Toxic Masculinity and the Incel Movement
The Incel Movement and the Rise of Misogyny
The incel (involuntary celibate) movement, which fosters a deep-seated resentment toward women, has grown alarmingly in recent years. These online communities advocate violence against women and view them as the root of men’s problems. This toxic ideology often spills into the real world, promoting fear and hostility toward women and perpetuating misogyny.
Influential Figures and the Spread of “Toxic Masculinity”
Public figures like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson have gained massive followings by promoting “traditional” gender roles and dismissing women’s concerns about equality and safety. They argue that men are “under attack” and that women should return to submissive roles. Their influence has helped normalize harmful attitudes, leading young men to adopt misogynistic views under the guise of self-improvement.
Defamation Lawsuits and Smear Campaigns Against Women
In a post-MeToo era, a backlash has emerged, where women who speak up about abuse often face defamation lawsuits or public smear campaigns. This trend aims to silence survivors by painting them as liars or attention-seekers. In many cases, women risk their reputations, careers, and financial stability to share their stories, only to be attacked legally and publicly.
Malala Yousafzai Quotes
“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.”
“Do not wait for someone else to come and speak for you. It’s you who can change the world.”
Unrealistic Beauty Standards: A New Form of Control Over Women’s Bodies
The Dangerous Rise of Cosmetic Interventions
While corsets and foot-binding may seem like distant relics of patriarchy, today’s beauty standards are not much different. The pressure to undergo extreme cosmetic procedures—such as lip fillers, breast implants, and Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs)—is immense. Social media, filtered images, and celebrity culture have created a “perfect” female image that is unattainable without invasive procedures. Botox and fillers are now normalized for women as young as their 20s, despite the health risks.
Toxic Beauty Products and Cultural Pressure
Many beauty products, like skin-lightening creams and harsh hair treatments, contain toxic chemicals but are marketed as essential for women to feel “beautiful” and “youthful.” The relentless pressure to conform to narrow beauty ideals forces women to invest time, money, and energy into an image that ultimately serves patriarchal views on femininity.
Riane Eisler Quotes
“The real struggle is not between East and West, or capitalism and communism, but between the forces of partnership and domination.”
Jane Goodall Quotes
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.”
The “1950s Housewife” Trend on Social Media: A Glamorous Glorification of Traditional Gender Roles
In recent years, a surprising trend has emerged on social media, with young women romanticizing the lifestyle of the 1950s housewife. This nostalgic view of traditional gender roles has become a curated, aesthetic-driven movement, where women portray themselves as devoted housewives who focus on homemaking, baking, and “serving” their husbands. Through stylized videos and vintage-inspired photos, this trend glorifies a life where women willingly give up independence, career ambitions, and personal decision-making to embrace a role centered around pleasing and supporting their husbands.
But what’s troubling is that these portrayals often idealize a lifestyle without acknowledging the limitations and lack of autonomy women faced during the actual 1950s. The focus tends to be on beautiful kitchens, family recipes, and harmonious home scenes, glossing over the restrictions and social pressures that shaped women’s lives at that time. Instead, the trend promotes a version of femininity where a woman’s worth is tied to her ability to maintain a perfect household, raise children, and prioritize her partner’s needs above her own.
A Manufactured Reality: The Influence of Social Media and Monetization
Many influencers promoting this “traditional wife” lifestyle are not, in fact, living it themselves. Instead, they market this role as a brand, attracting followers who romanticize the idea and buy into products and courses on homemaking or “submissive” relationships. In many cases, these influencers are making money by selling a fantasy that does not align with their real lives. This creates a deceptive narrative that encourages women to model their lives after an idealized version of the past, often leading to unrealistic expectations about family life, relationships, and self-worth.
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Leymah Gbowee Quote
“You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.”
“If you educate a man, you educate one person. If you educate a woman, you educate a nation.”
Why This Trend is Problematic: Reinforcing Dependency and Limiting Self-Worth
While it’s perfectly valid for individuals to choose a traditional family structure if that’s their preference, this trend becomes problematic when it suggests that a woman’s purpose and fulfillment lie solely in pleasing a man and managing a household. It promotes the idea that women should be dependent on men for financial stability, decision-making, and personal happiness. This message discourages self-sufficiency, independence, and resilience—all qualities that are essential for navigating the modern world.
Moreover, this trend can create subtle pressures on young women who are still figuring out their identities and life goals. Seeing influencers glorify a lifestyle where women sacrifice their ambitions for a man’s well-being can make it harder for young women to believe in their right to personal fulfillment and independence. And unlike women in the 1950s, who had limited access to careers and financial independence, today’s women have far more choices—a fact that this trend tends to obscure or dismiss.
A Step Backward in a Time of Hard-Won Progress
The popularity of this trend can be seen as a response to the pressures of modern life, where high expectations and the pursuit of equality have sometimes left women feeling overwhelmed. Some may find comfort in a simpler, slower way of life that recalls traditional values. However, by idealizing this 1950s aesthetic without addressing the real limitations it placed on women’s lives, the trend risks romanticizing an era of restricted rights and choices.
In this way, the “traditional housewife” trend is more than just a harmless social media fad; it reflects a broader cultural backlash against women’s independence. It subtly encourages women to relinquish their autonomy, fall into conventional roles, and depend on men, rather than emphasizing partnership, equality, and self-development. With a growing focus on these outdated roles, we risk normalizing the very limitations that past feminist movements fought so hard to overcome.
Gloria Steinem Quote
“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” 10. “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”
Why We Must Stay Critical of Retrograde Narratives
The glamorization of traditional gender roles, like that of the 1950s housewife, should remind us of the dangers of idealizing the past without recognizing its challenges. While everyone has the right to choose their lifestyle, promoting a narrative that prioritizes dependency over empowerment threatens to set back the progress made in women’s rights. As we face a growing wave of legal, cultural, and social challenges to women’s autonomy, it’s more essential than ever to support narratives that empower women to make choices freely, based on their true desires and potential, not on aestheticized ideals.
Historical Patterns: How Women’s Rights Have Been Rolled Back Over Time
The history of women’s rights is filled with both progress and regression, showing us just how precarious these hard-won freedoms can be.
Iran in the 1970s: A Stark Transformation
In the 1970s, women in Iran enjoyed considerable freedoms: they wore modern clothing, attended university alongside men, and even participated in government. The social and cultural environment supported self-expression, and it wasn’t uncommon to see women in bikinis at the beach. However, after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women’s rights took a dramatic step backward. Mandatory hijabs, restrictions on public behavior, and limits on education and employment drastically changed women’s lives, transforming Iran into a society where women’s autonomy and freedoms were sharply curtailed. Today, Iranian women still resist these restrictions, but the freedoms they enjoyed just a few decades ago remain out of reach for many.
Nazi Germany: A Regression in Women’s Roles
In the 1920s and early 1930s, women in Germany experienced unprecedented rights. They had the right to vote, pursued higher education, and joined the workforce in increasing numbers. However, with the rise of the Nazi regime, women were pushed out of professional roles and barred from certain levels of education, encouraged instead to focus on traditional roles of motherhood and domesticity. The regime promoted a strict vision of gender roles, limiting women’s autonomy and relegating them to the private sphere. This reversal demonstrates how political shifts can quickly undo societal progress.
The United States in the 1940s and 1950s: Post-War Regression
During World War II, American women entered the workforce in droves, taking on roles in manufacturing and other sectors traditionally dominated by men. The iconic image of “Rosie the Riveter” embodied the spirit of women’s empowerment and contribution to the war effort. However, after the war, women were encouraged to leave their jobs to make room for returning male soldiers. The 1950s saw a cultural push for women to return to domestic life, promoting an ideal of the “perfect housewife.” This shift sent a powerful message that women’s progress was contingent upon societal needs and expectations.
The Suffrage Movement and Backlash in the Early 20th Century
At the turn of the century, women around the world began winning the right to vote and participate in public life. However, this progress was met with intense backlash, with critics arguing that women’s suffrage threatened traditional family values. In the U.S., for example, the suffrage movement spurred anti-feminist groups to form, fighting to curb women’s rights to work and vote. Even after gaining the vote, many women were still excluded from meaningful roles in politics and society, and had to continue fighting against deeply ingrained resistance to their newfound rights.
Audre Lorde Quote
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
Western Women’s Liberation Movements: Gains and Losses
The women’s liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s brought radical changes across Europe and North America. Women fought for reproductive rights, access to contraception, and workplace equality. In many ways, these movements were successful, paving the way for advancements in women’s autonomy. However, the backlash was swift. In the 1980s, a conservative wave rolled through much of the West, with growing opposition to abortion rights, restrictions on access to contraception, and cultural pressures pushing women back toward traditional roles. This ebb and flow shows how even within progressive societies, women’s rights can become a target for conservative and reactionary forces.
Eastern Europe After the Fall of Communism
Under communist regimes, Eastern European countries often promoted women’s roles in the workforce and provided some forms of state-supported childcare and reproductive health services. However, after the fall of communism, many of these services were dismantled, and there was a push for women to return to traditional domestic roles. In countries like Poland and Hungary, reproductive rights and access to family planning services were significantly restricted in the years that followed, demonstrating how shifts in political ideology can directly impact women’s lives and autonomy.
The Path Forward: Working Together with Understanding and Compassion
Education and Awareness
Creating awareness about these regressions in women’s rights is essential. Both men and women need to understand that these issues are not just “women’s problems” but societal issues that affect everyone.
Empowering Women to Reject Unrealistic Standards
Women can reclaim control by challenging beauty standards and advocating for self-acceptance. The pressure to conform to impossible beauty ideals diminishes when women unite to celebrate authenticity, diversity, and personal choice.
Engaging Men as Allies
To make lasting progress, it’s crucial to involve men in the conversation. Approaching these discussions with empathy and understanding, rather than hostility, helps prevent defensiveness and encourages men to become allies. Men who understand the importance of equality can play a powerful role in countering the spread of toxic masculinity and supporting the fight for women’s rights.
Supporting Women’s Rights Organizations Globally
International support for organizations that protect women’s rights is critical. Groups like RAINN, Amnesty International, UN Women, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Equality Now and local grassroots organizations provide resources and advocacy that help maintain momentum for women’s rights worldwide.
A Call to Stay Vigilant and United
The fight for women’s rights is far from over. While progress has been made, the rise of conservative laws, toxic cultural trends, and unrealistic beauty standards are challenging that progress on multiple fronts. History reminds us that women’s rights are not guaranteed—they require vigilance, unity, and a commitment to continuous advocacy.
The global regression of women’s rights highlights the importance of solidarity and awareness. By addressing these issues with compassion, we can work together to ensure that the progress made is protected and expanded. True gender equality will only be achieved when both women and men stand together to create a world that values dignity, autonomy, and respect for all.
Lots of Love, may all beings be happy peaceful and free
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