Beijing+30: Holding the Line, Defending Progress, and Mobilizing for the Future
Thirty years ago, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing marked a defining moment for global gender equality. The result was the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a groundbreaking framework that set out commitments to advance women’s rights across 12 critical areas, including education, political participation, economic justice, and freedom from violence. Adopted by 189 governments, it remains one of the most ambitious global blueprints for achieving gender equality and has been central to progress we’ve seen since 1995: the proportion of women in national parliaments has more than doubled, rising from 11.3% in 1995 to approximately 26.9% by 2024, and 193 countries have now enacted laws against gender-based violence compared to just 12 in 1995. Significant strides have also been made in education and reproductive rights, women’s economic empowerment and their role in peacebuilding.
This year, the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) will commemorate the 30th anniversary of this declaration with Beijing+30. These two weeks will review progress and assess how far the world has come in fulfilling these commitments. But this anniversary comes at a time when feminist movements are facing unprecedented challenges.
A Shifting Landscape: Feminist Gains, Challenges, and the Backlash
The global feminist movement has made significant strides since 1995, with more women in leadership, greater legal protections, and expanded abortion rights. However, the momentum toward gender equality is now facing a severe backlash. Across the world, conservative and authoritarian movements are working to dismantle hard-won gains, particularly in areas like reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections, and civic freedoms.
The Global Philanthropy Project estimates that between from 2013-2017, anti-gender equality actors globally received USD 3.7 billion, more than triple the funding allocated to LGBTQI+ groups globally. Meanwhile, between 2021-22, women’s rights organisations received just 0.7 per cent of all gender-related aid according to OECD, and this was before the devastating cuts that have swept across aid budgets. Countries like the Netherlands and the United States have specifically targeted funding for gender equality programs in their cuts, putting at risk the very organisations that drive social change. The defunding of women’s rights movements is not merely a financial issue—it’s a deliberate political move to weaken the fight for equality.
Whilst women’s rights and feminist organisations are operating in an increasingly restricted funding space, they are also facing a shrinking civic space. Our 2024 SDG Gender Index found that 91 countries still had ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ scores in 2022 for personal autonomy, individual rights, and freedom from discrimination and women’s right to discuss political issues openly, both in private and public spaces, has consistently declined globally since 2015. Meanwhile, CIVICUS found that in 2023, only 3.2% of people lived in countries with open civic space, while nearly a third lived in countries where rights to peaceful assembly, association, and expression are severely restricted.
Civic space is essential for feminist movements to organize, advocate, and hold governments accountable. When civic space is restricted, it weakens not only the fight for gender equality but also broader struggles for human rights, justice, and inclusive governance.
Despite these challenges, feminist movements have always pushed through and have been driven by collective resilience, solidarity, and grassroots organizing, and will continue to do so even in the face of resistance. In the lead-up to Beijing+30, feminist organizations worldwide have come together to assess progress, strategize against the current backlash, and push for renewed commitments to gender equality. As part of this collective effort, our coalition members have been instrumental in driving regional advocacy and mobilization.
FEMNET’s Advocacy: Elevating African Women’s Voices at Beijing+30
FEMNET, the African Women’s Development and Communication Network, has played a key role in ensuring that African women’s voices are heard in the Beijing+30 process. In partnership with NGO CSW Africa and UN Women, it organized 13 consultations across all five African subregions, engaging over 3,100 participants. These discussions brought together women’s rights organizations, youth groups, international NGOs, and UN agencies to assess progress and challenges.
A regional gathering in Addis Ababa in October 2024 brought together 300 participants from 55 African states, to develop a position statement outlining key achievements, gaps, and recommendations across six critical areas: inclusive development, poverty eradication, freedom from violence, institutional accountability, peaceful societies, and environmental sustainability. FEMNET’s leadership ensures that African women’s priorities are central to global Beijing+30 discussions, pushing for meaningful action on gender equality.
ARROW’s Leadership: Driving Gender Justice in Asia and the Pacific
ARROW has played a critical role in the Beijing+30 review process by leading advocacy and recommendations setting around commitments made under the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), particularly in the areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equality, and women’s empowerment. As the co-chair for the Beijing+30 Asia Pacific Regional Steering Committee, ARROW has been instrumental in co-organising a series of virtual consultations where 503 participants that included feminists, women’s rights and civil society organisations, individuals and networks representing 13 constituencies and 32 countries participated, ARROW has also facilitated the consolidation of emerging insights into a report that highlights key recommendations on the region to accelerate progress on Beijing PfA.
In line with their commitment to youth leadership, ARROW as a steering committee member also co-hosted the regional young feminist forum that brought together more than 100 youth from the region to identify young feminist recommendations on Beijing and a series of events as a part of the Ministerial Forum on Beijing+30 held in Bangkok in November. ARROW has meaningfully contributed to key policy dialogues, and advocacy efforts that highlight persistent gaps and emerging challenges in achieving the Beijing Platform for Action in the Asia-Pacific region. By leveraging data, feminist research, and intersectional analysis, ARROW ensured that the Beijing +30 review is not just a reflection on past progress but also a catalyst for accelerated action toward gender justice and SRHR for all.
Pushing for a gender-equal future at Beijing+30
As CSW69 begins, feminist organizations and advocates from around the world will convene to assess the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and strategize ways to counter the current rollback on women’s rights. The political declaration emerging from CSW69 will serve as a renewed commitment to the Beijing Platform, with concrete recommendations informed by the experiences and insights gathered through these extensive regional consultations.
This year’s discussions will be key for holding governments accountable, demanding renewed political commitment, and pushing for increased funding for feminist movements that have been systematically underfunded despite their essential role in advancing gender equality. Beijing+30 is not only a reflection or a commemoration of the past—but a rallying call for action and accountability. While progress has been made, it remains fragile and uneven, especially for the most marginalized women and girls. The road to a gender equal future is long, but feminist movements will continue to resist, organize, and demand a just and sustainable world for all.
