As part of our “Where’s the Justice?” campaign marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, we spoke with Akila Radhakrishnan, Board Member of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice and Strategic Legal Advisor on Gender Justice at the Atlantic Council. In this interview, Akila discusses important progress made, urgent setbacks faced, and the real impact funding cuts have on achieving gender equality.

1. What has been the biggest improvement in gender justice over the past 30 years?

Over the last 30 years, one major accomplishment of the gender justice movement has been deepening the understanding of gender: what it means, who is included, and how it needs to inform justice and accountability efforts.

This includes a paradigm shift from understanding gender as synonymous with women or gendered experiences with rape.

This shift is why we see today prosecutorial strategies that prioritize a gender-competent approach from the outset, as well as in convictions like the Ongwen case for a wide array of gender-based crimes, which reflect the distinct values and interests protected by various gender crimes, including reproductive, personal, and relational autonomy.

We must continue to fight the impulses or voices that ask us to flatten or simplify gendered experiences.

2. What has been the most urgent setback or challenge today for gender justice?

There is no question that we are all living in a world of dangerous regression regarding gender.

We see this rollback globally today–through the pervasive use of sexual violence in conflicts, systematic attacks on reproductive rights, and the stubborn persistence of, and even increases in, gender inequality.

In its most extreme form, this can be seen in a country like Afghanistan, where the Taliban’s very logic of governance is premised on systematic domination and oppression based on gender, or “gender apartheid.”

These rollbacks have increasingly forced us into a defensive posture regarding gender issues, aiming to protect rather than to lose what we have. However, this often comes at the expense of making progress.

Nevertheless, we must push ahead progressively, creatively, and strategically toward a gender-equal world—one that is inclusive and intersectional, expansive in its vision of equality, and centers and follows the leadership of feminist activists and movements around the world who are leading these fights.

3. How have funding cuts/backsliding on gender equality globally affected your work?

One of the most pernicious effects of funding cuts and backsliding on gender has been a move to the center or lowest common denominator.

Dominated by questions of “this issue is too controversial” or “this won’t be possible,” has forced advocates to sideline certain issues, including abortion and LGBTQI+ rights, in favor of what is perceived to be achievable.

It has also forced gender justice advocates to have to justify themselves and their work, creating yet another barrier to effective advocacy and outcomes.

 The “Where’s the Justice?” campaign marks 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action, highlighting both progress made and the urgent setbacks gender justice faces today. Stay tuned as we feature more feminist leaders, activists, and experts speaking about the realities of their work, the harm caused by funding cuts, and the urgent need for accountability and meaningful action toward gender equality.