A new global review by the human-rights organization Equality Now has found that, even thirty years after the historic Beijing Declaration on women’s rights, discriminatory laws remain deeply entrenched across dozens of countries.
Their long-running “Words and Deeds” report, released as part of the Beijing+30 assessment, reveals that not a single countryhas achieved full legal equality for women , a finding that underscores the slow and uneven pace of reform despite years of advocacy.
The report notes that many nations still enforce outdated laws restricting women’s rights in areas such as marriage, property ownership, inheritance, bodily autonomy, and protection from violence. In some places, religious or customary practices overshadow constitutional protections, leaving women with little legal recourse.
Even more concerning, the organization warns that several governments have recently weakened existing gender-protection laws due to political pressure, conservative backlash, or lack of enforcement.
Equality Now calls on world leaders to treat legal equality as a non-negotiable priority, arguing that true progress on issues like education, safety, employment, and economic independence is impossible without a solid legal foundation.
Without immediate and meaningful reform, the group warns, the world risks entering the next decade with the same structural barriers that have held women back for generations.
