The world is at a breaking point, and the urgency to adopt a true Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) has never been greater. Across the globe, women, girls, and SOGIESC diverse people are under attack, their rights rolled back by rising authoritarianism, anti-gender movements, and shrinking civic space. They also continue to face challenges realizing their right to healthcare, education, water and food, housing and other basic rights. At the same time, governments that once championed FFP are retreating or watering down their commitments, leaving a dangerous vacuum. Crises of climate, conflict, inequality, and economic injustice are worsening, and without bold, feminist approaches, those already most marginalized will bear the heaviest burdens.
At the core of our shared humanity lies a universal truth: human rights are inherent, inalienable, and indivisible. Since 1945, when the United Nations Charter and later the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were adopted, governments have pledged to uphold these rights without distinction of race, gender, religion, or socio-economic status. Yet in practice, women, girls, and SOGIESC diverse people have too often been excluded from the full realization of these protections. What was framed as universal has, in implementation, been partial, giving men an unfair advantage. The principle of equality is also compromised in the face of extreme concentration of wealth today. The richest 1% now owns nearly 45% of all wealth, while 44% of humanity are living below the World Bank poverty line of $6.85 per day; 69.3% of global wealth is in the global north. The silent truth, the economy and society has historically favoured white men and the Global North, marginalising women, girls and people of the global majority, is louder than what is penned in Article 2: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction…”
Today, global crises, conflict, climate change, democratic backsliding, economic inequality, and rising anti-rights movements demand a foreign policy response that is not only principled, but transformative. FFP provides such a framework. It moves beyond rhetoric, ensuring that foreign policy decisions, resources, and partnerships centre on equity, inclusion, and justice.
Political leaders have the power to move from words to action. A truly inclusive Feminist Foreign Policy offers a path to reimagine global cooperation anchored in justice, grounded in human rights, and responsive to the lived realities of all people.