Gender rights and gender funding are under attack. 

The US used to be the biggest funder of international development cooperation globally. Last month, Trump stopped that funding overnight, pending a 90-day review of projects against the Administration’s priorities.  

It’s almost certain that no funding to gender equality, women’s rights or LGBTQIA+ organisations will survive that review.  

Trump has even ordered that all the names of all USAID-funded organisations should be made public, posing a life-threatening risk to staff of LGBTQIA+ organisations and human rights defenders working in hostile contexts. 

The Netherlands used to be the biggest funder of women’s rights organisations. Last week – emboldened by Trump – their far-right government announced that gender equality would be scrapped as an international priority.  

This comes after sweeping cuts to spending on international development, with all remaining programs to focus on advancing the Dutch government’s interests of “trade, security, and less migration”.  

This week, the UK Labour Government announced that it would reduce international development cooperation from 0.5 to 0.3% of its GDP in order to increase spending on the defence budget. This is a fundamental mistake: gender equality is the strongest predictor of peace. Investing in development with gender equality at the centre is an investment in peace. 

It’s no coincidence that far right governments are going after the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ people. Attacking gender equality and enforcing rigid, binary gender norms is step one in the authoritarian playbook.  

At IWDA we are pushing back against the far-right agenda because our rights are at stake.  If we do not act now, the hard-fought wins we’ve achieved together are at serious risk of being undone.   

Unlike the regressive policies we’re seeing elsewhere, our stance is based on a clear understanding: gender equality and funding for women and LGBTIQA+ rights organisations are not about special treatment for some, they are about benefit for all.  

Now more than ever we need the Australian community to be loud in its support for human rights and gender equality for all. Without your chorus of voices, we risk being drowned out by the loudest of the patriarchs half way around the world.   

Any drastic funding cuts will have devastating consequences for women’s rights organisations in the Asia and Pacific regions and around the world.  Gender equality needs your support now more than ever. Here’s how you can help: 

Until 31st  March, every dollar you donate to IWDA will be matched, meaning your support will be twice as powerful. 

Donate today at iwd.iwda.org.au or call 1300 661 812   

Your donation can help stop decades of progress from being lost.