"Two decades after the adoption of a landmark global agreement on gender equality, a vicious backlash is threatening to strip women and girls of their rights", said Amnesty International ahead of a major UN meeting in New York.

Women throughout the world continue to face discrimination, are denied equal access to participation in public and political life and suffer sexual and gender-based violence and abuse in public places and at home. The aim of the discussion 'The Backlash Against Women's Rights' is to highlight the rise in violence against women in current conflict zones around the world as well as to bring attention to the 'watering down' of international agreements on the protection of women's rights signed by governments of the countries which are not necessarily torn by military conflicts, but undergo a politically orchestrated revival of 'traditional values'.