IWD 2026: Women hold just 64% legal rights men enjoy

Women’s rights are regressing worldwide as women hold only 64 per cent of the legal rights that men enjoy globally, a UN report has found.

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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.

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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.

Despite the reported progress, the report says that 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.

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“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 in 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, 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.

(NAN)