On the eve of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Gender Council warn that the global rise of extremism poses an unprecedented threat to women’s rights and to the safety of women journalists.
The IFJ Gender Council, which represents women and men journalists affiliated to IFJ members unions who defend gender equality across the world, has expressed its deep concern over the expansion of extremist movements that are undermining women’s rights worldwide and fuelling targeted attacks against women journalists. These are carried out particularly through online abuse, harassment, violence and coordinated disinformation campaigns.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban authorities have systematically restricted women’s education and employment, with the result that many women journalists there have had to leave the profession. A survey by the Afghan National Journalists’ Union (ANJU), an IFJ affiliate, has revealed a dramatic slump in the number of the country’s women journalists working and a huge rise in the numbers facing discrimination. The survey found that 87% of women journalists in Afghanistan have experienced gender discrimination during the Taliban regime and 60% of the country’s women journalists have lost their jobs and careers.
In some European countries, far-right political parties have promoted policies undermining reproductive rights and gender equality. The far-right political party Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia), led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has pushed pro-natalist policies and opposed what it calls a “gender ideology”. Investigative female journalists, such as Marilù Mastrogivanni and Federica Angeli, have received death threats and been placed under police protection. In Spain, far-right political party Vox started a smear campaign against Spanish journalist Cristina Fallarás, following her comments about the party being fascist and racist.
In Argentina, President Javier Milei’s right-wing supporters have been targeting journalists and women’s rights activists. This year the president unleashed more than 65 posts on X attacking journalist Julia Mengolini with misogynistic comments. Women journalists who cover gender issues in the country reported they had to deal with a wave of threats against them.
A report published in 2025 by NUSOJ, the Somali journalists’ union affiliated to the IFJ, showed how the political and security context in Somalia exacerbates attacks against women journalists. Terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab and ISIS, as well as extremist religious groups, threaten and attack women journalists in order to silence them.
In a new declaration published on 24 November, the IFJ Gender Council called for stronger legislation to protect women’s rights, better protection for journalists reporting on extremist groups, and firm public condemnation of all forms of extremism targeting women and the media. It also urged newsrooms to introduce higher ethical standards aimed at preventing the normalisation of extremist narratives, plus closer cooperation with digital platforms to curb online threats and harassment, and expanded media-literacy efforts to counter disinformation and misogynistic narratives. Finally, the Council called for the safeguarding of pluralistic and democratic public spheres, so that extremist actors cannot silence journalists or undermine debate on gender equality and human dignity.
IFJ Gender Council chair Maria Ángeles Samperio said: “Without robust, enforceable gender policies and genuine protection for journalists reporting on far-right activities, all the progress we have fought for could be undone in an instant. We need governments, newsrooms, and digital platforms to act urgently to strengthen legislation, raise journalism ethical standards, and confront the toxic online campaigns that seek to silence us, as journalists. Safeguarding women’s rights and ensuring diverse, fearless journalism is not optional; it is the foundation of any democratic and humane society.”
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger added: “On 25 November, the IFJ reaffirms its unequivocal rejection of all forms of violence against women. Gender equality is a union issue and we will not let women’s rights be undermined or silenced in our workplaces and in our profession.”
Source: IFJ
