Editorial: The Guardian

• The Gulf state is the new chair of a UN women’s commission, reflecting a bigger issue as governments attack or fail to prioritize gender equality.
• Saudi Arabia, notorious for its dire record on women’s rights, was chosen unopposed to chair the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
• A broader global regression in gender equality is observed with China rolling back women’s rights and the US overturning women’s constitutional right to an abortion.
• In Afghanistan, the Taliban has announced the resumption of public stoning of women and in Gambia, politicians are seeking to overturn a ban on female genital mutilation.
• Women and girls have been harder hit by the global hunger crisis and are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis.

Conclusion: The rise of misogynistic, authoritarian leaders has set women back. Many governments seem to have forgotten that women’s requirements are not a disposable extra, but a fundamental component of human rights. The disconcerting choice of Saudi Arabia as the CSW’s chair calls for a challenge from other member states who truly prioritize women’s rights.

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