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Opinion
– International Women’s Day 2026 comes at a decisive moment: women and girls have never been closer to equality, and never closer to losing it. Legal protection against domestic violence has expanded in many countries. However, the rights of women and girls are receding in plain sight, and around the world women still do not enjoy the same legal rights as men.
On 4 March, ahead of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), UN Women will launch a report warning that systems meant to protect women and girls are failing, leaving millions of people exposed to discrimination, violence and impunity as the backlash against gender equality intensifies and violations of fundamental rights increase around the world.
From March 9 to 19, the world will gather at United Nations Headquarters for CSW70, the United Nations’ largest annual forum dedicated to gender equality and women’s rights. What happens in the CSW influences laws, policies, funding and accountability across countries and generations.
This year’s focus is clear: rights, justice and action for all women and girls.
CSW70 is a defining test: whether the world decides to act together and provide equality under the law for all women and girls or allow injustice to persist with impunity. UN Women calls on governments, partners, institutions and communities around the world to stand up, show up and speak out for rights, justice and action, so that all women and girls can live safely, speak freely and exist on equal terms.
Meanwhile, four years after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 5,000 women and girls have been killed and 14,000 injured, with 2025 being the deadliest year to date, and the real number likely much higher.
As war intensifies and energy attacks paralyze daily life, a third crisis is gripping women and girls: the collapse of funding for women-led organizations and women’s rights, the lifeline that keeps women and girls alive, protected and supported.
As humanitarian needs increase, women’s rights and women-led organizations across Ukraine are being pushed to collapse, with deep funding cuts dismantling frontline protection systems and forcing life-saving services for women and girls to be reduced or closed.
A new UN Women report, The impact of foreign aid cuts on women’s rights and women-led organizations in Ukraine, documents the magnitude of the funding crisis and its impact on the lives of women and girls.
One in three women’s rights and women-led organizations surveyed warn that they may only survive six months or less at current funding levels. Due to cuts in 2025 and 2026, women-led organizations in Ukraine are expected to lose at least $52.9 million by the end of the year.
The women’s rights and women-led organizations surveyed warn that they will be forced to suspend life-saving services to at least 63,000 women and girls in need in 2026. The first and hardest hit are those already most at risk: women and girls in rural and frontline areas, older women, female-headed households, and women and girls with disabilities will be deprived of protection, humanitarian aid and recovery at a time of increasing danger.
As shown in the report prepared by the Gender in Humanitarian Action (GiHA) Working Group in Ukraine, co-chaired by UN Women, the NGO Girls and CARE Ukraine, the effects of funding cuts are compounded by a growing national energy crisis and an increase in attacks.
While Ukrainian women’s organizations continue to fulfill their mandates, their operational capacity, their access to populations in need, and the well-being of their staff are severely affected by the power outages. This is especially urgent today, when millions of Ukrainians are deprived of essential services, including electricity, heat and water.
“Women’s organizations in Ukraine are the first to support women and girls in crisis, and are the sustaining force of protection, dignity and hope. Current funding cuts are disrupting their life-saving operations. While UN Women continues to work and invest in women’s organizations in Ukraine, more sustained funding is needed so they can continue to provide essential services.”
“This is the only way women and girls can play a full and meaningful role in shaping a gender-responsive recovery and building a just and lasting peace,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.
IPS UN Office
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