Global destabilizing factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, the outbreak of war in Europe and the increasing regularity of climate change-fuelled natural disasters, combined with a collective turn towards authoritarianism by many governments have made the situation of human rights around the world more precarious. When human rights are threatened, the impacts are more pronounced for more vulnerable populations, including women. Witness testimony from Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia is illustrative of this.

To protect those who are most marginalized, Canada and the international community must acknowledge and address these rights infringements that women in many countries are experiencing with increasing regularity and severity. With this aim, over the course of three meetings, the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development heard from human rights experts, human rights defenders, civil society leaders and government officials. Their testimony has proven invaluable in exposing some of the risks that women today are facing simply on account of their gender.

Though often addressing vastly different regions of the world, witnesses shared a common view that the recognition and protection of women’s rights are declining, and, in the case of Afghanistan in particular, are dramatically plummeting. To help to address this situation, this report makes nine recommendations. Two provide the Government of Canada with strategies to help mitigate the effects of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan’s restrictions on education for women and girls by supporting both alternative education in Afghanistan and pathways for studying in Canada. Another three recommendations take up the challenges faced by women human rights defenders who face urgent and unpredictable threats to their lives and livelihoods on account of their work. They focus on providing more of these individuals with protection, making that protection better suited to their need for temporary, emergency shelter in Canada and creating ways for them to be supported while they are here so that their essential work can continue. Following witness testimony regarding the situation in Iran, one recommendation responds to the specific role that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have had in violating women’s rights by designating it as a terrorist organization. The next underscores the important role that international fora have as venues for calling out human rights violating states and strengthening partnerships with like-minded countries. The next recommendation seeks to increase the level of humanitarian aid that Canada spends in an effort to support women’s rights organizations globally. The final recommendation urges the government to align its international development goals and other foreign policy goals.

Conditions for women around the world are deteriorating and this phenomenon is occurring in some places more rapidly than others. A lack of support for women’s rights will only allow these trends to continue their downward spiral, threatening the overall strength of civil society. Witnesses called on Canada to be an agent for change to these women. By emphasizing the rights of women in policy and diplomacy, Canada can take the lead in improving global respect for human rights.