IWD: No Nation Has Achieved Full Gender Equality, UN Laments

The United Nations has warned that despite decades of advocacy and reform, no country in the world has yet achieved full equality between women and girls and men.

The organisation, which raised the concern to mark the 2026 International Women’s Day, said it could take a century for women and girls to have the same rights as men.

In a post on its X handle yesterday, the UN said, “It’s 2026, and as of yet, no country has achieved gender equality.

“At the current rate of progress, it could take hundreds of years for women and girls to have the same rights and protections as men.”

Citing a new report titled “Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice for All Women and Girls,” released ahead of the observance, the UN also revealed that women worldwide hold just 64 per cent of the legal rights afforded to men.

The organisation said this persistent legal discrimination leaves women and girls vulnerable to exclusion, violence and systemic disadvantage at every stage of life.

“The reality is stark. In more than half of the world’s countries, rape laws are not based on consent,” the report reads.

“Nearly three out of four nations still legally allow girls to be forced into marriage, cutting short childhoods, education and future.

“44 per cent of countries do not have laws that guarantee equal pay for work of equal value.

“About 54 per cent of countries lack a consent-based definition of rape,” the report added.

The global body also noted that in many places, women still face legal barriers to owning property, seeking divorce, passing citizenship to their children, or even working and moving freely without their husband’s permission.

According to the Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, when women and girls are denied justice, the damage goes far beyond any single case.

“Public trust erodes, institutions lose legitimacy, and the rule of law itself is weakened. A justice system that fails half the population cannot claim to uphold justice at all,” Bahous said.

However, the report noted that some progress has been made.

“Today, 87 per cent of countries have laws against domestic violence and more than 40 nations have strengthened constitutional protections for women and girls in the past decade,” it says.

Despite the progress, the report says laws alone are not enough.

“Survivors often face stigma, fear, financial barriers and a lack of trust in institutions meant to protect them.

“As a result, justice remains out of reach for far too many,” the report says.

At the same time, the report noted that the world is witnessing troubling setbacks.

According to it, in some places, hard-won rights are being rolled back, while new forms of violence, such as digital abuse, are increasing.

It stated, “For the 676 million women and girls living within 50 kilometres of active conflict zones, justice systems are largely absent, and perpetrators act with impunity.

“Rape continues to be used as a weapon of war, with reported cases of sexual violence rising by 87 per cent in just two years.”

According to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, “Women’s rights are human rights and investing in women and girls is one of the surest ways to make the world a better place.”

International Women’s Day is therefore not only a moment of reflection but also a call to action, Guterres said.

“When women are not equal under the law, equality does not truly exist.

“Ensuring justice for all women and girls is essential for building fairer, stronger societies everywhere. Now is the time to act,” he said.

The UN chief urged support for UN Women and women’s movements worldwide to help turn rights into reality for every woman and girl.