The Working Group on the issue of discrimination of women by the UN’s Human Rights Council, headed by the Croatian scientist Ivana Radacic, published its annual report on women’s rights and gender equality on Tuesday.

Despite great progress, gender equality has still not been achieved, but women’s empowerment cannot be stopped, Radacic, member of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences, told Croatian news agency Hina after presenting the Group’s annual report during the 38th session of the Human Rights Council.

Since it was founded in 2011, the Working Group publishes annual reports which analyse the achievements in the area of women’s rights and gender equality, as well as current challenges.

At the end of its six-year mandate, the Group concluded that the greatest challenges lie in the rights of women in family and culture, as well as areas of reproductive and sexual health.

“Although we live in a very challenging time of fundamentalist and extremist movements, populism and political conservativism, as well growing inequality, all of which negatively affects women’s rights, my impression is that women’s empowerment cannot be stopped, that gender equality is inevitable, even if the road is long,” Radacic said.

We can witness from mass protests and campaigns, as well as the fight for reproductive rights, that women no longer tolerate discrimination and they are raising their voices, sometimes greatly risking their safety, Radacic said.

There is more solidarity in the human rights’ movements, and more and more men have joined the fight for gender equality, she added.

“However, I believe it’s necessary to respond to the challenges more clearly, and prevent using cultural and religious arguments to justify violations of women’s rights or to place family values in opposition with the principle of gender equality,” Radicic said.

The Group said in the report there were visible improvements around the world regarding international and regional standards and their implementation. There are more women participating in the political and economic sphere, and there is notable progress in the area of women’s rights in the family and reproductive and sexual rights.

Many countries have implemented measures to encourage women to participate in politics and economy more, and ensure equality of women in family, as well as freedom from violence. Acting through the judiciary, parliament, and the referendum initiatives has resulted in recently overturning restrictive abortion laws in certain jurisdicions.

However, despite these successes, gender equality has still not been achieved, and progress is slow and uneven, with the protection of the rights gained at risk. Moreover, the rise of authoritarian political regimes, fundamentalist and extremist movements, as well as a widening economic gap, present additional challenges for women’s rights, the report said.

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