Patriarchy Is Regaining Ground: UN Chief Warns of Unprecedented Threats to Women's Rights

On March 11, 2024, at the opening of the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark and unsettling warning to the global community: “Patriarchy is far from vanquished; it is regaining ground.” Far from being mere diplomatic rhetoric, Guterres’s assessment reflects a grim reality where women’s rights are being systematically dismantled across the globe. From the “gender apartheid” imposed by the Taliban in Afghanistan to the rollback of reproductive rights in the United States, a coordinated and patriarchal resurgence is threatening decades of hard-won progress. At the current pace of change, the UN estimates that achieving genuine gender equality will take an additional 300 years—a timeline that is unacceptable in an era of supposed modern advancement.

The evidence of this global rollback is both widespread and statistically alarming. Every ten minutes, a woman is killed by an intimate partner or family member, and maternal mortality rates are rising in several regions where healthcare access is being restricted. In Afghanistan, the Taliban has issued over fifty decrees specifically designed to erase women from public life, banning them from secondary education, most forms of employment, and even the simple freedom of visiting parks or gyms. Meanwhile, in the United States, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has led to near-total abortion bans in fourteen states, signaling a sharp decline in bodily autonomy within one of the world’s most established democracies. This resurgence is often fueled by autocrats and populists who weaponize “traditional values” to justify the decriminalization of domestic violence, the suppression of LGBTQ+ rights, and the general marginalization of women.

This retrenchment is not confined to physical spaces; digital technology has become a dangerous new tool for patriarchal control. An estimated 87% of women have experienced some form of online harassment, with deepfake pornography and coordinated smear campaigns increasingly used to silence female politicians and activists. Furthermore, surveillance technology is being abused to monitor those seeking reproductive healthcare or to enforce regressive dress codes. Economically, the pandemic has only deepened existing inequalities, with women’s unemployment remaining higher than men’s and the global gender pay gap stagnating at 20%. In conflict zones, such as Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Sudan, sexual violence is once again being used as a systematic tactic of war, flourishing within a pervasive culture of impunity where perpetrators are rarely held accountable.

Despite these overwhelming challenges, a powerful global feminist awakening is rising in response. From the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran to the “Green Wave” fighting for abortion rights across Latin America, women are refusing to accept a return to the past. A younger generation of leaders, primarily Gen Z and millennials, is leveraging social media to build intersectional movements that recognize how race, class, and gender identity are inseparable in the fight for justice. Guterres emphasized that achieving gender equality is not a “favor” to women but a necessity for global stability and economic prosperity, noting that closing the gender gap could increase global GDP by 26%. He called on governments to urgently reform discriminatory laws, invest in women’s leadership through quotas, and provide robust resources for survivors of violence.

We are currently at a critical tipping point where the international community must choose between consolidating its gains or losing them entirely for generations to come. The Secretary-General’s message serves as a call to action for everyone: governments must enforce equality laws, businesses must ensure equal pay, and individuals must consistently challenge sexism in their own spaces. While patriarchy is indeed adapting and fighting back with renewed vigor, it is also facing the most united and determined global feminist movement in history. The arc of history has shown that progress is rarely linear, but the irreversible consciousness of women worldwide ensures that the future will not belong to those who seek to push them back into the shadows. True liberation is not just a dream but an ongoing battle that the world cannot afford to lose.