Power Over Rights

POWER OVER RIGHTS Understanding and countering the transnational anti-gender movement Volume II: Case Studies March 2021 Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy CFFP gGmbH Registration Court Charlottenburg, HRB 196999 B Anklamer Strasse 38 10115 Berlin, Germany Power over Rights: Understanding and countering the transnational anti-gender movement Volume II: Case Studies March 2021 Authors: Dr. Rebecca Sanders, Dr. Laura Dudley Jenkins, Siobhan Guerrero Mc Manus, De- nise Hirao, Leah Hoctor, Adriana Lamačková, Katrine Thomasen, Lucille Griffon, Laura Clough, Charlotte Pruth, Maria Johansson Editors: Katie Washington, Damjan Denkovski, Nina Bernarding Design: Marissa Conway Report made possible by the German Federal Foreign Office and the Foreign Ministry of Fin- nland. The views expressed in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the donors. Copyright ©2021 Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy Copies of the report can be downloaded from the CFFP website at: www.centreforfeministforeignpolicy.org/reports Please contact CFFP for permission to reproduce any part of the content of this report. Email: [email protected] 2 Table of Contents 4 Introduction 7 Pushback against Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the 7 Executive summary 8 Overview 9 Core actors 10 Pushback narratives 10 Religious narratives 11 Competing rights narratives 12 Patriarchal populist narratives 13 Pseudo-Scientific narratives 15 Pushback strategies 15 The ‘global gag rule’ and defunding 16 Controlling legal language 18 Other tactical manoeuvres 19 Pushback against the pushback 20 Future outlook 21 Bibliography 27 Pushback against Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Mexico 27 Executive summary 27 Introduction 28 Mexican law regarding women and minorities’ rights from 2000 to the present 31 The political context 33 Concluding remarks 33 Bibliography 36 Appendix 40 Pushback against Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Brazil 40 The sexual and reproductive rights and health scenario 40 Gender in the far-right narratives: “we” versus “they” 43 Authoritarianism on the rise, SRHR at stake 3 46 Signs of hope 47 Countering fascism in Brazil 48 Bibliography 55 Anti-Equality and Anti-SRHR Backlash in the EU 55 Executive summary 56 Introduction 57 The impact of anti-equality and anti-SRHR backlash at the national level in the EU 57 LGBTQI* rights 58 Abortion 59 Sexuality education 60 Ratification of the Istanbul Convention 60 The impact of anti-equality and anti-SRHR backlash in EU institu- tions and Council of Europe fora 60 European Union 61 Council of Europe 62 Conclusions 63 Bibliography 68 Contesting gender equality in the MENA region 68 Executive summary 69 Introduction 69 Egypt 71 Tunisia 75 Turkey 75 Conclusion 75 Bibliography 4 Power Over Rights: Understanding and countering the transnational anti-gender movement Volume II: Case Studies Introduction Across the globe, actors working to restrict and undermine the rights of women and LGBTQI* people are gaining new ground - in multilateral fora, national parliaments, on the streets, or in local municipalities. They attack reproductive rights and international conventions protecting women’s rights, and they push for national laws that limit the rights of LGBTQI* people. It is no surprise that feminist civil society and progressive governments are increasingly raising awareness of countering these developments, and the importance of further advancing the rights of women, LGBTQI* persons, and other politically marginalised groups. This study, published in two volumes, aims to support these actors. Its purpose is to increase understanding of anti-gender campaigns and movements. It seeks to outline concrete policy recommendations for governments committed to human rights for all, and in cooperation with civil society, how to counter these attacks. For the past two decades, progressive actors have failed to seriously engage with the threat represented by anti-gender actors and movements, which means this work is not only important but imperative. In Volume I, we provide a comparative analysis of the history, narratives, and strategies of anti-gender movements. Our findings highlight the interconnectedness and transnational na- ture of the actors working against the women’s and LGBTQI* rights agenda and emphasise that the attacks we are witnessing are not merely a pushback against perceived achievements by human rights proponents. Instead, we argue that what we are witnessing is a highly organ- ised (but not centralised), well-funded, transnational movement working on the domestic and international level to undermine women’s rights, LGBTQI* rights, and civil society partici- pation in policy discussions and decisions. Further, we argue that the resistance is not about ‘gender’, but it is about power operates and maintaining or promoting social and political hierarchies in the face of their (perceived) decline. Their efforts aim to advance an alternative understanding of the world order, one where the rights of certain groups take precedence over others. Understanding these features of the international anti-gender movements and positioning them within the wider context of increasing anti-democratic tendencies is critical to developing effective strategies to counter them. To inform the study, the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy commissioned five case studies, which analyse anti-gender efforts and activities in five specific contexts. Denise Hirao analyses the anti-gender movement in Brazil in the context of Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign and rise to power. Katrine Thomasen and Adriana Lamačková from the Centre for Reproductive Rights analyse anti-gender campaigns’ impact on the legal and policy level in the European Union (EU). Lucille Griffon and Laura Clough from EuroMed Rights, together with Charlotte Pruth and Maria Johansson from the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, provide an analysis of the situation of gender equality in Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey1, while Siobhan Guer- 1 There is disagreement about whether the examples of these countries fit into the definitions of the transnational anti-gender movement. However, in this study, we classify their activities and narratives in the spheres of women’s and LGBTQI* rights as anti-gender activities, and we believe that they provide additional context to the scope and diversity in the attack on the freedom and dignity of these populations. 5 Power Over Rights: Understanding and countering the transnational anti-gender movement Volume II: Case Studies rero McManus discusses how the rise of anti-gender actors, the diminishment of secularism and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a sexual and reproductive rights emergency. Finally, Rebecca Sanders and Laura Jenkins outline how conservative and evangelical NGOs are shap- ing US policies on women and LGBTQI* rights. These case studies provide readers with an opportunity to deep-dive into the contexts in question, and better understand the report’s conclusions and the recommendations that emerge from Volume 1. We recommend approach- ing the two volumes as complementary. Each case study provides an overview of the history of the development of women’s and LGBTQI* rights and examines the domestic narratives and framing of these issues and the alliances formed among anti-gender actors. They continue with an analysis of the international engagement of the governments in each context under review, finally drawing out the interlinkages between the domestic and international level. The case studies, where appropriate, also reflect on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the issues discussed. While the case studies all follow the same general structure, they vary in terms of focus and approach, reflecting the diversity of the authors, their work, and their backgrounds. We want to express our gratitude to the donors for this project, the German Federal Foreign Of- fice and the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs for enabling us to do this work. We are also very grateful to the case study authors, and Katie Washington for editing the manuscripts. Moreover, these countries often join anti-gender voting blocs in the international arena, and Turkey is showing signs of a state-driven anti-gender movement in the classical sense. 6 Power Over Rights: Understanding and countering the transnational anti-gender movement Volume II: Case Studies Pushback Against Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the USA Dr. Rebecca Sanders, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Cincinnati and Dr. Laura Dudley Jenkins, Professor, Department of Political Sci- ence, University of Cincinnati Executive summary US pushback against international women’s rights is led by conservative NGOs that have suc- cessfully captured the Republican Party’s domestic and foreign policy. In addition to blocking US ratification of CEDAW, activists, politicians, and diplomats have sought to prevent and roll back international recognition of abortion rights and the broader concept of ‘sexual and reproductive health and rights’ (SRHR). They have also criticised ‘comprehensive sexuality education’ and challenged the concept of ‘gender’, particularly insofar as it recognises sexual orientation and gender identity rights (SOGI). These “norm spoilers” (Sanders, 2018) advance several types of narratives to undermine human rights norms: religious narratives that frame women’s rights as unnatural and immoral, competing rights narratives that frame women’s

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