On this International Women’s Day, social media will be flooded with speeches, press releases, and hashtags about “empowerment” and “equity.” The United Nations will host panel discussions and promote another initiative in the name of “gender equality.” But these gestures, performative at best, do nothing to stop or call attention to the violence that defines reality for so many women around the world.
For decades, the multilateral institutions tasked with protecting the world’s most vulnerable women have failed them. The U.N., despite its vast resources and lofty declarations, has become an echo chamber of virtue signaling, offering words when action is required. The U.S. Agency for International Development, meanwhile, has funneled millions into progressive gender programs with little oversight, funding bureaucracies instead of security. These initiatives have done nothing to address the root causes of violence or protect women at risk. Worse, past presidential administrations have allowed ideology to erode the very definitions necessary to safeguard women’s rights.
If we are to meet this moment with the seriousness it demands, the United States must act with moral clarity. President Donald Trump’s executive order restoring the definition of women and girls in the federal government was a critical first step in acknowledging their unique vulnerabilities. Now, we must extend that same courage to the global stage. America must lead — not by funneling more development dollars into failing institutions but by ensuring that funding is tied to real action that prioritizes the safety and dignity of women in conflict zones.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pledged to make America’s core national interest the guiding mission of U.S. foreign policy — evaluating every policy, program, and taxpayer expenditure through the lens of whether it makes America stronger, safer, and more prosperous. This perspective recognizes a fundamental truth: Security leads to peace, which leads to prosperity.
It is a necessary shift, as the multilateral system has repeatedly proven incapable of protecting women. Consider the Democratic Republic of Congo, where sexual violence has been a hallmark of conflict for decades. Women have been mutilated, gang-raped, and abducted by armed groups. Just last month, over 150 female inmates were raped and burned to death. The U.N., despite its repeated condemnations, has not only failed to stop the violence but has had its own peacekeeping forces implicated in sexual abuse and exploitation.
In Sudan, the crisis is just as dire. Since fighting erupted between rival military factions last April, women have been systematically targeted by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Reports describe mass rapes — including of children as young as one year old. The international response? More strongly worded statements and aid pledges, none of which have deterred the violence or secured justice for survivors.
Ukraine serves as another stark reminder of how little multilateral institutions can do in the face of a determined aggressor. Russian forces have weaponized sexual violence to terrorize and control, yet despite reports, investigations, and global concern, women remain unprotected.
Across the world, the international community has expressed concern, held meetings, and issued reports, but none of it has made women safer. The failure of multilateral institutions makes one thing clear: If the world is to take the protection of women seriously, American leadership is essential.
In 2007, the State Department launched the International Women of Courage Award, honoring women who have demonstrated exceptional bravery and leadership in the fight for justice, human rights, and women’s empowerment. Every year, the secretary of state recognizes these courageous women, shining a global spotlight on real leaders who stand against oppression, often at great personal risk.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS BETRAYED WOMEN AND GIRLS AGAIN
If America truly believes in women’s rights, we must be willing to defend them. That means ensuring that those who use sexual violence as a weapon of war, and entities such as the U.N. that have participated in such abuses, face real consequences. It means rejecting the complacency of a global order that has allowed women’s suffering to continue for far too long.
This International Women’s Day, let’s move beyond empty rhetoric. The U.S. must have the courage to lead where others have failed.
Meaghan Mobbs, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for American Safety and Security at Independent Women. Andrea Bottner is the vice president of external relations at Independent Women and former director of the State Department’s Office of International Women’s Issues.