Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS)
Across Europe and beyond, women’s rights movements are confronting an intensifying backlash that threatens decades of progress on equality and justice. This backlash — led by transnational networks of conservative, religious, and right-wing actors, but also reinforced through “progressive” policies framed as gender-neutral — is reshaping the civic landscape. It seeks to silence feminist voices, defund women’s specialist services, and distort the meaning of “gender” and “equality” under the guise of neutrality and inclusivity.
This participatory workshop invites activists, researchers, and practitioners to collectively examine how gender backlash intersects with the broader shrinking of civic space and democratic backsliding. Through dialogue and collaborative mapping, how “anti-gender” narratives and gender-neutral policies operate as tools of disinformation and civic erosion — and how feminist movements across regions are reclaiming truth, solidarity, and political agency in response will be collectively identified. Grounded in feminist and intersectional analysis, the workshop will combine short inputs, group work, and open discussion to co-create ideas for resistance and collective action. Addressing the gender backlash as being not only a struggle for women’s rights but a vital act of defending civic space and democratic integrity will collectively be explored.
Time and place: 31 October 2025, 15:30 – 17:00, Bedesten
Language: English
Number of participants: 20
