A/HRC/56/51 political violence against women. Some countries face obstacles in adopting, regulating and disseminating laws to advance gender equality, as well as gaps in both the adoption and the implementation of relevant public policies, including due to the non-allocation of the necessary funds. The Working Group has similarly observed that, even when progressive language to advance women’s and girls’ rights is introduced into national constitutions and legislation, including the prohibition of harmful practices, implementation often remains a challenge, as women’s and girls’ issues continue to be sidelined or minimized, and the social transformation required to remedy gender inequalities is frequently met with strong resistance. 12 In some cases, such resistance has fuelled attempts to withdraw existing guarantees, including the prohibition of harmful practices. 15. The gender backlash has been driven by nationalist, fundamentalist and conservative political, cultural and religious movements, encompassing governmental, religious and civil society actors. These movements have formed various national and transnational alliances aimed at promoting stereotypical attitudes about the roles of women and men in the family and society that restrict women’s and girls’ choices and potential in many aspects of their lives.13 They have attacked the term “gender”, seeing it as a tool of “ideological colonization” that aims to destroy the “traditional family” and “family values”. 14 These alliances have succeeded in influencing legislation, policy and practice, as well as, in some cases, in altering public opinion. As a result, the world is witnessing a growing backlash against sexual and reproductive health rights, including comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive health, ever-present misogynistic statements in the media and the rise of anti-gender discourse in the public domain, even by high-ranking politicians, as well as attacks on women and girl human rights defenders.15 16. The backlash has been propelled by some Governments, which have challenged the universality of human rights, using religious and cultural justifications. 16 The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief has referred to considerable evidence that, in all regions of the world, actors citing religious justifications for their actions have advocated to Governments and to the broader public for the preservation or imposition of laws and policies that directly or indirectly discriminate against women, girls and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) persons.17 The Working Group emphasizes that arguments framed in terms of cultural diversity and freedom of religion cannot be invoked to justify denial of rights and discrimination against women and girls.18 17. Various types of crises, such as political, social, economic, public health, environmental and humanitarian crises, not only have a disproportionate impact in themselves on women and girls, but are also used to erode their rights.19 The Working Group has noted that rising authoritarianism and crises, uncontrolled greed for profit and skyrocketing socioeconomic inequality, which have been exacerbated since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as the instrumentalization of religion, have contributed to the pushback against women’s and girls’ rights in all areas.20 At the same time, 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 GE.24-07559 Ibid. See Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, “Gender equality and gender backlash”, position paper, available at https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/Gender-equality-andgender-backlash.pdf. See also Haley McEwen and Lata Narayanaswamy, “The international antigender movement: understanding the rise of anti-gender discourses in the context of development, human rights and social protection”, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (May 2023). Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, “Gender equality and gender backlash”, p. 7. See also A/HRC/38/46 and A/HRC/43/48. See, for example, A/76/258, A/78/288, A/HRC/40/60, A/HRC/43/48, A/HRC/47/38, CEDAW/C/BGR/CO/8, CEDAW/C/HUN/CO/9 and CEDAW/C/SRB/CO/4. More generally, see Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, “Gender equality and gender backlash”. A/HRC/47/38, para. 48. A/HRC/43/48, para. 7. A/HRC/47/38, para. 47. See also A/HRC/29/40. See A/HRC/47/38. See A/HRC/38/46; A/HRC/53/39; and Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, “Gender equality and gender backlash”. 5