No, we will not be silent. No, we will not stop taking action. Dark, stormy winds sweep across the world since Donald Trump’s return to power. Racists, xenophobes, misogynists, and hardline nationalists are banding together, flooding the media with their regressive, patriarchal, and reactionary ideology. Claiming to restore a tarnished pride, they spread hatred and attack everything that stands in the way of their counter-revolutionary agenda. Their targets? The rule of law, independent journalism, science and intellectual discourse, women’s rights, LGBTQI+ community, migrants, civil servants, humanitarians, Ukrainians, and internet regulation advocates—anyone who dares to stand for liberty, equality, and fraternity.
This ultra-reactionary wave is not only predictable but also strong. It is carefully prepared, well organised, and heavily funded on a global scale. We can no longer afford to be naïve about the scale and ambition of this authoritarian threat infiltrating our countries and communities.
We must resist and take back the initiative. We must defend our freedom of expression by exposing the truth about US President Donald Trump and his allies. At the core of their authoritarian ideology lies a deep-seated opposition to women’s rights and any policies that promote gender equality. Their claim to defend free speech is nothing more than a smokescreen for their real agenda: to silence women and restrict their freedom.
This is the grim reality they seek to impose—a world where funding for women’s healthcare and right to control their lives through access to contraception, abortion, education and professional opportunities is slashed. A world where women’s careers are deliberately stifled, to force them back into traditional domestic roles. Their aim is clear: to maintain male dominance and reinforce a reactionary social order. Whether through rhetoric challenging reproductive autonomy, attacks on development aid, or an outright rejection of gender equality, their ideology is both calculated and violent. We would be fools to underestimate such a generational threat.
No matter how powerful this ultra-conservative movement becomes, we will not be silenced. We will continue to resist, expose, and fight for women's rights worldwide. This fight demands bold and unapologetic feminist policy—one that guarantees bodily autonomy, free and safe access to abortion, contraception, education, employment, and full political, economic, and social independence. These rights must be the foundation of tomorrow’s democracies.
This is the message we brought to the United Nations this week for the 69th Commission on the Status of Women. There are women and men in this world, who refuse to accept a future built on submission and oppression. There are still women and men who choose respect, equality, and freedom over fear and control.
In these dark times, we must stand together, raise our voices, and refuse to back down.
Turn on the lights. Stand for women’s rights. Join us!
Signatories:
- Hon. Petra Bayr, Member of Parliament, Austria
- Hon. Pia Maria Wieninger, Member of Parliament, Austria
- Hon. Caroline Désir, Member of Parliament, Belgium
- Hon. Eva Platteau, Member of Parliament, Belgium
- Hon. Annick Lambrecht, Member of Parliament, Belgium
- Senator Goedele Liekens, Member of the Senate, Belgium
- Senator Fourat Ben Chikha, Member of the Senate, Belgium
- Senator Marilou McPhedran, Member of the Senate, Canada
- Hon. Alexandra Attalides, Member of Parliament, Cyprus
- Hon. Eva Biaudet, Member of Parliament, Finland
- Hon. Guillaume Gouffier Valente, Member of Parliament, France
- Senator Dominique Vérien, Member of the Senate, France
- Hon. Véronique Riotton, Member of Parliament, France
- Hon. Marie-Charlotte Garin, Member of Parliament, France
- Hon. Prisca Thévenot, Member of Parliament, France
- Hon. Julie Delpech, Member of Parliament, France
- Senator Susanna Lina Giulia Camusso, Member of the Senate, Italy
- Senator Ylenia Zambito, Member of the Senate, Italy
- Senator Sandra Zampa, Member of the Senate, Italy
- Senator Cecilia D'Elia, Member of the Senate, Italy
- Hon. Gilda Sportiello, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Laura Boldrini, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Francesca Ghirra, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Marco Grimaldi, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Chiara Gribaudo, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Marco Furfaro, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Luana Zanella, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Debora Serracchiani, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Antonella Forattini, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Ilenia Malvasi, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Valentina Ghio, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Emma Pavanelli, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Stefania Ascari, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Lia Quartapelle Procopio, Member of Parliament, Italy
- Hon. Joanna Scheuring Wielgus, Member of the European Parliament, Poland
- Hon. Wanda Nowicka, Member of Parliament, Poland
- Senator Cristian Chinea, Member of the Senate, Romania
- Senator Adelina Dobra, Member of the Senate, Romania
- Senator Irineu Darău, Member of the Senate, Romania
- Senator Cynthia Paun, Member of the Senate, Romania
- Hon. Corina Atanasiu MP, Chamber of Deputies, Romania
- Hon. Alexandru Muraru, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Romania
- Hon. Ovidiu Paraschivescu, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Romania
- Hon. Susana Ros, Member of the Congress of Deputies, Spain
- Hon. Lidia Guinart, Member of the Congress of Deputies, Spain
- Senator Elena Diego, Member of the Senate, Spain
- Hon. Ohiana Etxebarrieta, Member of Basque Country Parliament, Spain
- Hon. Jon Hernandez, Member of Basque Country Parliament, Spain
- Hon. Maitane Ipiñazar, Member of Basque Country Parliament, Spain
- Hon. Teslem Sidi, Member of the Congress of Deputies, Spain
- Hon. Alda Recas, Member of the Congress of Deputies, Spain
- Hon. Anders Ådahl, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Andreas Lennkvist Manriquez, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Anna Vikström, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Camilla Mårtensen, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Gudrun Brunegård, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Janine Alm Ericson, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Katarina Tolgfors, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Linnéa Wickman, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Lotta Johnsson Fornarve, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Helena Vilhelmsson, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Ulrika Westerlund, Member of Parliament, Sweden
- Hon. Barbara Gysi, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
- Hon. Céline Vara, Member of the Council of States, Switzerland
- Hon. Christine Badertscher, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
- Hon. Claudia Friedl, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
- Hon. Islam Alijaj, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
- Hon. Laurence Fehlmann Rielle, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
- Hon. Léonore Porchet, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
- Hon. Nicolas Walder, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
- Hon. Ursula Zybach, Member of the National Council, Switzerland
- Baroness Lindsay Northover, Member of the House of Lords, The UK
- Baroness Liz Sugg, Member of the House of Lords, The UK
- Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece, Member of the House of Lords, The UK