Ideological and political backlash against democratic principles and social justice goals, in particular gender equality has a long history, as do the feminist movements that have actively challenged these reactionary forces. In the last few decades however, the global political temperature has risen sharply towards the right with anti-gender forces becoming institutionalised, being systematically funded, gaining strong political support, and deploying new digital technologies to push their extreme brand of politics in ways that were previously unprecedented and unanticipated. These developments are taking place in a political landscape marked by rising political authoritarianism, resulting in increasing intolerance to diversity, xenophobia, misogyny, homophobia and ideologies fuelling anti-immigrant and anti-Black sentiments; along with a rapidly shrinking civic space. This renewed opposition to social justice poses grave challenges to political gains made through decades of feminist activism while also eroding democratic institutions and hard-won human rights (UNRISD and UN-Women 2025).
Amidst these challenges, feminist movements have continued to work towards social and gender justice and democratic principles, often by re-strategising, reconfiguring, and re-innovating feminist claims in the face of a massive and coordinated anti-feminist infrastructure. This special issue aims to facilitate critical conversations about tackling and countering anti-gender movements and reasserting intersectional and feminist claims. It builds on previous issues on fundamentalisms and feminist organisings, while furthering and deepening knowledge around this important theme. In particular, it intends to (a) understand the ways in which anti-feminist norms are being increasingly institutionalised across the global North and South and (b) to shine light on the complexities, challenges and strengths within feminist social movements and the resistances and strategies that they deploy at multiple levels (local, regional, transregional) and across multiple sites (physical, digital) to fight back reactionary forces.
Questions:
- What forms do these right-wing politics and movements take in the global North and South (different levels: local, regional, transregional)?
- What are the various mechanisms through which the rise of the global right is supported and funded, and how do they organise and coordinate the anti-feminist agenda?
- How do these politics influence everyday experiences of women and other groups?
- What are the ways in which gender and social justice movements, and feminist politics being appropriated by majoritarian state interests, neoliberal forces, and other actors?
- What are the intersectional implications?
- How are the hierarchies based on race, caste, and class that emerge in these feminist spaces and movements being navigated?
- How are appropriations by majority interests being fought and resisted?
- What kind of cross-issue organisings are being built to resist co-option?
- What (innovative and creative) strategies are being deployed by feminist, Queer, Trans persons and Black, Indigenous People and other minoritised groups to craft collective resistances against reactionary forces?
- What are the ways in which collective and intersectional knowledges being built by feminist, Queer, and anti-race and anti-caste activists, and how can these reservoirs of knowledge serve to fight conservative forces, while bridging academia and activism?
Read the detailed call here: Rise of the global right, its implications on social justice and the push back by feminist resistances
Our guest editors: This issue will be guest edited by Lata Narayanaswamy, Gisela Zaremberg, CM (Conny) Roggeband, and Flávia Biroli.
Submissions
We invite contributions from community and grassroots leaders, civil society organisations and networks, researchers, academics, policymakers, and practitioners in the form of research articles, case studies, and essays.
Please send your abstract of no more than 250 words with details about your research and preliminary findings or a small multi-modal proposal (a two-minute video clip abstract or 250 word abstract with images) using the submission link below.
Abstract/proposal submission link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd6QrxMzHBoedRVJ4Wub3YYt12qnJodsy2l0kI8wxnskSgOgw/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Deadline: 25 January 2026, 11:59pm UTC.
Please read the Guidelines for contributors carefully before abstract/proposal submission. Please send any queries to genderanddevelopment.south@gmail.com.
Note about Gender and Development:
Gender & Development, co-published by Oxfam and Routledge/Taylor & Francis, has been a steadfast source of essential readings in the field of development for over 30 years. Since its founding in 1993, the journal has critically explored a range of cross-cutting issues in the areas of gender and development. It is a trailblazer in establishing inclusive and decolonialist approaches to knowledge creation and management in the wider international humanitarian and development sectors. While previously hosted by Oxfam Great Britain, a consortium of Oxfam affiliates in the global South – Oxfams Brazil, Colombia, India, Oxfam KEDV (Turkiye), Mexico and South Africa – has now been hosting the journal since 1st January 2022.