Women Deliver CEO Dr Maliha Khan says hard-won gains on gender equality are being put at risk, as feminist movements face tightening civic space, shrinking funding, and increasingly organised anti-rights campaigns around the world.
Speaking as planning builds for the Women Deliver 2026 Conference (WD2026) in Narrm (Melbourne), Australia, Dr Khan warned that the global environment has shifted sharply since the last Women Deliver Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2023.
According to Dr Khan, movements are confronting a difficult mix of pressures, including cuts to development assistance, high-profile funding disruptions, and political trends that are narrowing the space for advocacy.
At the same time, she said, feminist organising is adapting quickly, with stronger cross-border collaboration, deeper coalition-building, and a renewed focus on holding decision-makers to account.
“From Kigali to Narrm, we are seeing feminist movements respond to instability by organising more deeply across borders, generations and issues, and by sharpening the demand for accountability from those in power,” Dr Khan said.
Women Deliver has been working with partners across regions as part of its Journey to WD2026, a process designed to shape the priorities and structures leading into the Melbourne conference.
This has included consultations across the Oceanic Pacific, alongside engagement linked to the WD2023 Oceanic Pacific Regional Convening. Women Deliver has also undertaken a listening tour with First Nations leaders in Australia, with the aim of informing governance pathways and ensuring local perspectives are reflected in planning.
In parallel, the organisation has convened workshops bringing together feminist leaders and partners to explore shared approaches to gender equality, systems change, and accountability.
A key outcome of this work is the development of the Feminist Playbook, described as a collective global effort to help movements coordinate more closely and push for stronger responsibility from those in power.
Since initial consultations held during the UN General Assembly in September, Women Deliver has carried out 15 consultations so far in cities including Mexico, Nairobi, Beirut, Bogota, Paris and Geneva, with further sessions planned through 2026.
Women Deliver has also been supporting coalition work through its Collective Action for Change program, aimed at aligning priorities and accelerating joint advocacy. Alongside this, the Emerging Leaders for Change Program has been launched to invest in adolescent and youth activists by providing networks, tools and opportunities to influence policy discussions.
Dr Khan said these initiatives come at a moment when movements are responding to two reinforcing global trends.
One is the contraction of funding for gender-focused programs, including reductions in official development assistance and funding freezes that have affected areas such as sexual and reproductive health, education, gender-based violence prevention and humanitarian support.
The second is the growing influence of authoritarian governance and organised anti-rights movements, which she said are targeting bodily autonomy, sexuality, gender expression and reproductive freedoms.
“These pressures are real but so is the response,” Dr Khan said. “Movements are adapting quickly through strengthening alliances, sharing strategy and insisting on accountability.”
Women Deliver 2026 will take place in April in Narrm (Melbourne), bringing together thousands of advocates, policymakers, researchers, funders, grassroots organisers and young leaders from around the world.
Registrations are now open, with further details available at here.
Maria Irene is India Correspondent for The Indian Sun, reporting on technology, finance, culture, and diaspora stories across India and Australia, with a special focus on the Australian Consulate’s initiatives in India
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