Join the Forum and International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) on Wednesday, May 28th (8:00 AM - 10:00 AM PT / 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM CET) for a Bridger’s Roundtable with the Forum’s Head of Research, Miriam Juan-Torres Gonzalez, and peacebuilder Wazhma Frogh, Founder and Director of Wellness, Prosperity, Socio-Empowerment Organization (WPSO) in Afghanistan. 

This Roundtable will bring together members of the Forum network and ICAN’s Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL) to explore the global backlash against gender equality—accelerated by the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID and freeze on development funding—and the rise of anti-gender campaigns that undermine democracy and legitimize authoritarian control under the guise of protecting “traditional family values.” These campaigns operate as a flexible, context-specific toolkit that fuels repression, as seen starkly in Afghanistan, where systemic gender-based oppression has severely limited women’s public participation and sparked calls to codify gender apartheid in international law. As the U.S. retreats from its commitments to gender equality, Women, Peace, and Security, and broader DEI initiatives, it not only reverses domestic progress but empowers extremist forces globally while sidelining the frontline peacebuilders—especially women—who are working to counter extremism and protect the vulnerable. Together, we’ll examine what these dynamics mean for the work of bridgers and peacebuilders as their collective efforts challenge anti-gender campaigns, geopolitical power dynamics, and traditional ideas of gender with alternative framing.