Feminist Foreign Policies Are Fighting for Their Life : Niloufar Pourzand

 Feminist Foreign Policies Are Fighting for Their Life

Maria Luisa Gambale — PassBlue — November 5, 2025
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Summary
A new 240-page report from the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative (FFPC), released at the recent Paris ministerial conference, finds that feminist foreign policies face mounting backlash worldwide. Once embraced by countries like Sweden, Argentina, the Netherlands, and Germany, such policies are being dismantled amid rising opposition from well-funded anti-rights movements supported by conservative religious groups in the US, Europe, and Russia. Despite setbacks, the report identifies a core of resilient supporters—including France, Mexico, Liberia, and Colombia—and notes new interest from countries such as Australia, Brazil, and the UK. The authors warn that official development assistance is shrinking while anti-rights organizations are rapidly expanding their financial influence. FFPC leaders argue that feminist policies linking peace, gender equality, and climate justice remain essential and vow to persist despite growing hostility and donor retreat.

Quotes
“With the renouncement of feminist foreign policies in Sweden, Argentina, the Netherlands and Germany, I thought this year’s report might be an obituary for this now decade-old field.” — Lyric Thompson, FFPC founder
“Well-funded anti-rights opposition movements… are polarizing politics and sweeping elections around the globe.” — FFPC Report
“They were seeded with the evangelical Christian United States organizations, including but not limited to Family Watch International, C-Fam, and others.” — Lyric Thompson
“It’s actually a funny split screen... I have never had the number of donors either cancel commitments, or more recently even ask for money back, because they’re afraid of it being frozen.” — Lyric Thompson