As a young and idealistic title, The Independent is inspired by the hope that humankind is making progress towards equal opportunity for all. But a century after the triumph of the suffragettes in Britain, we have to recognise that the quest for women’s equality here and around the world is facing substantial setbacks.
Not just in obvious places such as Afghanistan, where girls are denied education, but also in the United States, where women’s right to choose abortion and bodily autonomy has been rolled back in many states. Even in the United Kingdom, the backlash against “wokeism” seems to be radicalising some young men with a new resentment against women’s rights.
