Global Launch of 2025 Women, Peace and Security Index Amid Rising Rights Backlash

The 25th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) is being marked amid a global rise in backlash against women's rights and the highest number of active conflicts since 1946. The WPS Index, launched by Norway in partnership with Georgetown University and PRIO, ranks countries on women's status and highlights the growing proximity of women to conflict zones, underscoring the agenda's critical importance for policymakers and activists. UN Peacekeeping reflects on 25 years of implementing the WPS agenda, emphasizing the political and strategic necessity of women's equal participation in peace processes to achieve sustainable peace. Despite global progress, women in conflict zones like Afghanistan face severe repression, with the Taliban stripping women of basic rights, including education and employment, demonstrating the ongoing struggle and resilience of women under oppressive regimes. The continued exclusion of women from peace talks—only one in ten included female negotiators last year—compounds challenges, even as countries like Denmark begin drafting women into their armed forces in response to contemporary security threats like Russian aggression. These developments highlight both the transformative potential of the WPS agenda and the urgent need for renewed commitment to gender equality in peace and security efforts worldwide.