As democracy and human rights come under increasing pressure worldwide, women and girls living with disabilities are emerging as some of the most affected and some of the strongest voices resisting the rollback of rights.

A new report by Women Enabled International (WEI), a global organisation working at the intersection of gender and disability, has drawn attention to the growing threats confronting women, girls and gender-diverse people with disabilities around the world.

Titled 2026 Trend Report: Disability is a Gender Issue, the report is the first global analysis of the erosion of democracy and human rights through the experiences and perspectives of feminists with disabilities.

According to the report, approximately one in five women globally lives with a disability, yet their experiences remain largely absent from mainstream conversations about gender equality, democracy and human rights.

The report notes that freedom has declined globally for 20 consecutive years, with only seven in every 100 people now living in countries where fundamental freedoms are broadly respected. Against this backdrop, women and girls with disabilities are facing overlapping forms of discrimination while also taking leading roles in challenging these threats.

Drawing on a survey conducted among feminist disabled leaders in 2025, alongside testimonies from advocates across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America, WEI identified six major trends shaping the global disability and gender rights landscape.

The first is the weakening of democratic and human rights systems, which the report describes as a global dismantling of institutions and protections designed to safeguard fundamental freedoms.

The second is the growing backlash against gender equality. Progress on gender equality has stalled or been reversed in one in four countries over the past five years, creating an increasingly hostile environment for women’s rights advocates, particularly those navigating multiple forms of discrimination.

The report also warns that institutions created to advance justice are increasingly being exploited by anti-rights actors. According to WEI, disability rights arguments and international institutions are being instrumentalised to undermine LGBTQ+ protections and other human rights gains.

Another emerging trend is the portrayal of gender and disability rights advocacy as a form of foreign interference. The report highlights how this framing is being used in some contexts to challenge gender rights and restrict access to abortion, including through arguments presented as protecting people with disabilities.

Conflict is another major concern. Armed conflict does not only destroy infrastructure and livelihoods; it also creates mass disability. More than 600 million women and girls currently live within 50 kilometres of active conflict zones, placing them at heightened risk of violence, displacement, injury and loss of access to essential services.

Meanwhile, growing global military expenditure is placing additional pressure on social programmes. The report points to a 9.4 per cent year-on-year increase in global military spending in 2024, warning that resources are increasingly being diverted away from gender equality and disability programmes.
“Today more than ever, everything is a race, gender, AND disability issue,” said Maryangel García-Ramos, Executive Director of Women Enabled International.

She stressed that feminist disabled leaders must be central to efforts to build a democratic future grounded in gender equality.

“Disability cuts across every issue we care about and our actions must reflect that reality. The time to center, resource, and support feminist disabled leaders is NOW,” García-Ramos said.

Despite the growing threats, the report presents disabled feminist leadership as a critical force for resistance. Advocates are monitoring rights violations, defending reproductive rights, engaging international human rights mechanisms and building alliances across movements.

WEI concludes with six recommendations directed at funders, policymakers and civil society organisations, urging them to invest in and centre the leadership of women with disabilities in efforts to protect democracy, advance gender equality and defend human rights.

The report ultimately makes a clear case: disability cannot be treated as a separate issue from gender equality. For millions of women and girls, disability shapes how they experience discrimination, conflict, reproductive rights, political participation and access to justice.

And as democratic freedoms come under pressure, the voices of women with disabilities cannot afford to remain at the margins of the conversation.