Womankind: The latest UK aid cut threatens advancement of gender equality

Womankind Worldwide is devastated to hear the news about further cuts to the UK’s overseas development aid budget, from 0.5 to 0.3 per cent. With this latest development, we’re taken back to when the UK’s original commitment of 0.7 per cent was slashed in 2020. At that time, we warned that cuts would greatly impact women and girls when support was needed most during the COVID 19 pandemic and the existential threat of climate crisis. 

Today we continue to witness the backlash against women’s rights which has grown stronger, bolstered by anti-rights groups, populist ideologies, religious fundamentalism and the disheartening rising femicide rates around the world. Other governments have also withdrawn their support towards women’s rights with the UK coming in weeks after the US and the Netherlands announced reductions towards overseas development aid.  

When the Labour Party released its manifesto, we were hopeful that a return to the UK’s previously committed level of funding wouldn’t be too far behind. And amid the rise of right-wing populism, we’d been encouraged by the government’s intention to build new partnerships to fight for gender equality. Instead, this latest cut will throw the work of vital programmes into disarray and further weaken the position of the women’s rights organisations and feminist movements battling against multiple crises to protect and champion the rights of girls, women and people of all genders. We urgently call for the needs and priorities of women and girls and people of all genders to be prioritised with plans fast-tracked;  to restore the aid budget.  

We further remind the UK government of its committments  in the International Development (Gender Equality) Act. Promoting gender equality has always been central not only within the UK’s national interest but also internationally. These budget cuts threaten years of progress in advancing human rights for millions of women and girls around the world, thus critically damaging  the UK’s allyship and solidarity in contributing to a gender equal world.   

With the wave of the regression of women’s rights globally, the UK should realign its development strategy, investing in new partnerships with civil society particularly from the Global South and centering the voices of women and girls in creating just and fair societies.