A WOMAN following the news these days can be forgiven for wondering what century she is in. Sexist policies are proliferating globally, and the political discourse in many countries is defined by increasingly regressive messaging about women. This trend should not be dismissed as a niche women’s rights issue. Instead, it must be understood as a warning sign of democratic erosion.

Anti-women narratives are appearing in various garbs: growing calls for state control over reproductive rights; laws with weak or poorly enforced punishments for sexual harassment and violence; policies that stymie women’s ability to work or vote; and the promotion of women’s traditional roles with­­in families, particularly as mothers, refra­med as a strategic response to demographic crises facing some developed countries.

Those following the US election know that even after former US president Donald Trump’s failed assassination attempt, the fight over reproductive rights arguably remains the key electoral issue.

On the other side of the world, China’s Third Plenum last week highlighted the country’s gender inequality challenges, largely through the absence of women in the Community Party’s leadership. The failure to mention the role that women’s economic........

© Dawn