Sunday, March, 8 2026 - Women’s rights are regressing worldwide as women hold only 64 per cent of the legal rights that men enjoy globally, a United Nations report has said.
In spite of decades of progress, the report says women and
girls are still not equal to men under the law anywhere on earth.
The report titled, ‘Ensuring and Strengthening Access to
Justice for All Women and Girls’, says laws are being reshaped to restrict
women’s freedoms, silence their voices and allow abuse without consequence.
It warns that women and girls are being failed by the very
systems meant to protect them.
According to the report, this leaves them exposed to abuse,
injustice and impunity as backlash against gender equality intensifies.
The 2026 International Women’s Day highlights the urgent
need to close the justice gap for women and girls worldwide.
International Women’s Day 2026 shines a spotlight on a
critical issue: inequality in justice systems around the world.
“The reality is stark. In more than half of the world’s
countries, rape laws are not based on consent,” the report reads.
“Nearly three out of four nations still legally allow girls
to be forced into marriage, cutting short childhoods, education and future.
“44 per cent of countries do not have laws that guarantee
equal pay for work of equal value.
“About 54 per cent of countries lack consent-based
definition of rape.”
In many places, women still face legal barriers to owning
property, seeking divorce, passing citizenship to their children, or even
working and moving freely without their husband’s permission.
According to UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, when
women and girls are denied justice, the damage goes far beyond any single case.
“Public trust erodes, institutions lose legitimacy, and the
rule of law itself is weakened. A justice system that fails half the population
cannot claim to uphold justice at all,” Bahous said.
However, some progress has been made, and it matters,
according to the report.
“Today, 87 per cent of countries have laws against domestic
violence and more than 40 nations have strengthened constitutional protections
for women and girls in the past decade,” it says.
In spite of the reported progress, the report says laws
alone are not enough.
“Survivors often face stigma, fear, financial barriers and a
lack of trust in institutions meant to protect them.
“As a result, justice remains out of reach for far too
many”, the report says.
At the same time, the report says the world is witnessing
troubling setbacks.
In some places, it says hard-won rights are being rolled
back, while new forms of violence, such as digital abuse, are increasing.
“For the 676 million women and girls living within 50
kilometres of active conflict zones, justice systems are largely absent, and
perpetrators act with impunity.
“Rape continues to be used as a weapon of war, with reported
cases of sexual violence rising by 87 per cent in just two years.”
According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, “Women’s
rights are human rights and investigating women and girls is one of the surest
ways to make the world a better place.”
International Women’s Day is, therefore, not only a moment
of reflection, but it is a call to action, Guterres says.
“When women are not equal under the law, equality does not
truly exist.
“Ensuring justice for all women and girls is essential for
building fairer, stronger societies everywhere. Now is the time to act,” he
said.
The UN chief urged support for UN Women and women’s
movements worldwide to help turn rights into reality for every woman and girl.
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