Countering Gender Backlash

Project Overview:
Global progress on gender equality is under threat. We are living in an age where major political and social shifts are resulting in new forces that are visibly pushing back to reverse the many gains made for women’s rights and to shrink civic space. This patriarchal backlash is escalating globally. It aims to ‘other’, demonise and disempower those who seek to advance gender justice, and to re-valorise patriarchal traditional gender roles and stereotypes, founded on male supremacy and the subordination of women. It deploys a polarising politics of mobilising populist narratives which comingle misogyny, xenophobia and homophobia – and with scant regard for evidence or ‘truth’. It is also co-opting existing policy processes for gender in development, undoing and reversing much progress made in the past. Key sets of results: • Increased access to and use of gender equality research focused on backlash • Enhanced methods and capacity development for gender equality efforts. The project will co-create and communicate evidence and methods on backlash, the erosion of gender policies and new opportunities for feminist action. It will also – by enhancing capacities – indirectly contribute to other strategic gender equality objectives under Global Goals 5 (Gender equality) and 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions). WOUGNET’s research will strengthen the understanding of contextual features of gender backlash. We will highlight and showcase key backlash issues and cases in Uganda to build awareness of the effects of gender backlash and misogyny. We will be working closely with women’s rights organisations, civil society, gender justice defenders, human rights activists, academia, policymakers, the media, and more, to change and improve the conditions of vulnerable groups in Uganda and, ultimately, counter backlash.