Hundreds of millions of women and girls around the world are seeing their hopes and rights dim as wars and civil conflicts spread, governments grow more autocratic, and spending on humanitarian aid takes a backseat to building armies and buying military equipment.
A new report from the United Nations on Wednesday finds that more than 600 million women and girls lived in conflict-affected countries in 2022, an increase of 50% over five years. With civilians needing more aid than ever, spending on militaries exceeded $2.2 trillion last year alone.