Women’s rights over their bodies being questioned, says Justin Trudeau

Women’s rights are human rights, but a global pushback is now bringing into question a woman’s right to choose what to do with her body, Canadia’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said at the opening plenary of Women Deliver, the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women.

Women’s rights are human rights, but a global pushback is now bringing into question a woman’s right to choose what to do with her body, Canadia’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said at the opening plenary of Women Deliver, the world’s largest conference on gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women.

Trudeau, speaking partly in French and partly in English said: “The rights we enjoy in Canada, and the rights so many have enjoyed around the world, are not guaranteed. Progress can backslide. Gender equality is not guaranteed. There is pushback… Politicians are giving in… Women routinely face misogyny, discrimination and hate… Women’s right to choose what to do with their own bodies is being questioned.”

He did not mention abortion, but his remarks come in the wake of several US states passing stricter laws against abortion. He had earlier said he would talk to the US vice-president on the abortion legislations.

The “pushback” against women’s rights set the tone for the conference on the opening day as speakers in side-events including Women Deliver CEO Katja Iversen positioned the conference as a “pushback against the pushback”.

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