The United Nations has sounded the alarm, declaring that not a single country in the world has yet achieved gender equality.
Marking International Women’s Day 2026 on Sunday, the UN cautioned that, at the current pace, it could take centuries for women and girls to enjoy the same rights and protections as men.
In a statement shared on X, the UN highlighted the “urgent and widening justice gap” confronting women globally. “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,” the post read.
The warning is supported by a UN report, Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice for All Women and Girls, which found that women globally hold only 64% of the legal rights afforded to men. The report emphasizes that, despite decades of advocacy, women remain unequal under the law in every nation.
The study also revealed alarming trends: more than half of countries lack rape laws based on consent, nearly three in four nations allow child marriage, and 44% of countries have no legislation guaranteeing equal pay for equal work.
“The systems designed to protect women and girls are failing them,” the report stated, noting that laws are increasingly used to restrict freedoms, silence voices, and leave abuse unpunished.
International Women’s Day 2026 focuses on closing this justice gap, spotlighting systemic legal inequalities that continue to hinder women and girls worldwide.
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