{"id":153214,"date":"2025-11-21T15:59:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T22:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=153214"},"modified":"2025-11-21T15:59:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T22:59:02","slug":"top-unfpa-using-gender-based-violence-to-erase-biological-women-a-violation-of-the-rights-of-4billion-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/11\/21\/top-unfpa-using-gender-based-violence-to-erase-biological-women-a-violation-of-the-rights-of-4billion-women\/","title":{"rendered":"TOP UNFPA: Using \u201cGender-Based Violence\u201d to erase Biological Women \u2014 A Violation of the Rights of 4Billion Women"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong>Shenali D. Waduge<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p>by&nbsp;Shenali Waduge&nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp;20th November 2025<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shenaliwaduge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-20-at-20.16.19.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6646\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>For the first time in history, a UN agency is attempting to erase the biological foundations of human rights. UNFPA \u2014 created to protect men and women based on biological sex \u2014 is now redefining these categories without mandate, without science, without democratic consent, and without a single treaty backing its actions. By replacing sex with gender identity\u201d inside the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) framework, UNFPA is stripping 4 billion biological women of sex-specific safeguards built over decades of struggle and sacrifice. Simultaneously, it dissolves the rights of 4 billion biological men, who are now recast as identity holders\u201d rather than a sex-based class with distinct societal, familial, and reproductive roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not a policy adjustment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is the largest, quietest, and most dangerous re-engineering of human rights standards in UN history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it is happening with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>no approval from member states,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>no amendments to binding treaties,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>no vote in any parliament,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>no scientific basis,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and no public consultation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet governments remain silent, and the UN system is complicit, allowing UNFPA to rewrite legal sex categories through administrative programming \u2014 something even the UN General Assembly never authorized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The question is unavoidable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How can the UN allow one agency to dismantle the sex-based rights of humanity\u2019s entire population \u2014 8 billion people \u2014 without any legal authority or global consent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA\u2019s Original Mandate was entirely Sex-Based<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA was established in&nbsp;1967&nbsp;to protect reproductive health for men and women \u2014 meaning biological sex categories only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even in&nbsp;1997, the UNFPA Executive Director confirmed that&nbsp;<em>reproductive rights belong to both men and women<\/em>&nbsp;\u2014 again referring only to biological males and biological females.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What GBV originally meant \u2014 Sex-Based, Not Identity-Based<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1993 \u2013 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women<br>Introduced the term gender-based violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this time&nbsp;gender\u201d was used as a synonym for biological sex, not identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Humanitarian definition (pre-2005):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An umbrella term for harmful acts based on socially ascribed differences between males and females.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not identities. Not self-declared categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1995 \u2013 Beijing Platform for Action<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Violence against women\u201d = gender-based violence directed toward women.\u201d<br>At the same conference, UN delegates&nbsp;explicitly agreed that \u2018gender\u2019 does NOT mean gender identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the most important legal fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CEDAW General Recommendation 19<br>Defined GBV as violence directed against a woman because she is a woman,\u201d<br>and framed GBV as&nbsp;sex-based discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>None of these definitions included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>transgender,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>non-binary,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>gender-diverse,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>or self-identified categories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When did Men and Boys enter GBV?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;IASC Guidelines (2005)&nbsp;acknowledged that men and boys&nbsp;<em>may also<\/em>&nbsp;be victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This still meant:<br>\u2022 violence against biological men by biological women,<br>\u2022 violence against biological men by other biological men,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NOT:<br>\u2022 men identifying as women,<br>\u2022 women identifying as men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>GBV always referred to sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>THEN CAME \u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Great Shift: When Sex-Based became Identity-Based (Without Permission)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sex-based \u2192 Gender-based \u2192 Identity-based.<br>This shift was&nbsp;never approved by any UN treaty body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From&nbsp;2005 onward, UNFPA began replacing sex with gender identity,\u201d using:<br>\u2022 GBV programs<br>\u2022 school curricula<br>\u2022 DEI-style workplace policies<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA\u2019s&nbsp;2005 Focusing on Gender\u201d&nbsp;report is the&nbsp;first UNFPA document where gender\u201d = identity, not sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2018\u20132025 Gender Equality Strategies expand gender\u201d to include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>transgender<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>non-binary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>gender-diverse persons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>None of these categories exist in any UN treaty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>THE CORE PROBLEM:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA HAS NO LEGAL MANDATE TO REDEFINE MAN OR WOMAN<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;Yogyakarta Principles (2006)&nbsp;\u2014 the only document attempting to define gender identity \u2014 are:<br>\u2022 NOT UN law<br>\u2022 NOT binding<br>\u2022 NOT ratified<br>\u2022 NOT adopted by any Member State<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They have&nbsp;zero legal standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No UN treaty:<br>\u2022 defines gender identity<br>\u2022 equates identity with biological sex<br>\u2022 authorizes agencies to replace sex categories<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA is acting&nbsp;ultra vires&nbsp;\u2014 beyond its mandate \u2014 and using GBV frameworks to pressure nations into accepting identity categories without parliamentary approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Originally, All UN Rights Frameworks were Sex-Based<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For decades, UN policy referred only to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sexual Discrimination \/ Sex-Based Discrimination<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This always meant discrimination against:<br>\u2022 Women because they are female<br>\u2022 Men because they are male<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Foundational assumptions:<br>\u2022 Sex\u201d = biological male or biological female<br>\u2022 Rights were written for sex, not identity<br>\u2022 GBV = violence against women due to sex-based vulnerability<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was:<br>\u2022 no gender identity<br>\u2022 no SOGI<br>\u2022 no non-binary category<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even gays, lesbians, and bisexuals remained&nbsp;either male or female.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How UNFPA Shifted from Sex \u2192 Gender \u2192 Identity (Without Mandate)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From&nbsp;2005\u20132006, UNFPA executed a 3-step redefinition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Replace sex discrimination\u201d with gender discrimination.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>This quietly moved protection from biological reality \u2192 ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Expand gender\u201d to include SOGI and self-identity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>No treaty authorizes this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Insert identity categories into GBV.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Transforming GBV \u2014 originally protection for biological women \u2014 into a catch-all identity category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now GBV includes:<br>\u2022 transgender identities<br>\u2022 non-binary<br>\u2022 gender-diverse<br>\u2022 male-bodied people identifying as women<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This&nbsp;replaces biological sex with identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why this Is a Distortion \u2014 Not a Policy Update<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It Removes Sex-Based Protections for 4 Billion Women<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>GBV existed because women face:<br>\u2022 pregnancy-related risk<br>\u2022 sexual violence<br>\u2022 trafficking<br>\u2022 FGM<br>\u2022 sex-based biological vulnerability<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once sex is replaced with identity,&nbsp;women lose their dedicated legal protection category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It Forces Identity into Women\u2019s Spaces<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA redefines GBV as:<br>Harmful acts based on a person\u2019s gender.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA redefines gender as&nbsp;self-declared identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means GBV now covers:<br>\u2022 women<br>\u2022 men<br>\u2022 transwomen<br>\u2022 non-binary<br>\u2022 gender-diverse<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RESULT:<br>\u2022 male-bodied individuals counted under violence against women\u201d<br>\u2022 women\u2019s shelters become mixed-sex<br>\u2022 female statistics become contaminated<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is&nbsp;female erasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It Violates International Law<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Treaties that govern states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>CEDAW\u00a0\u2014 protects biological women only (changed only after 2008 through unofficial reinterpretation)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ICCPR\u00a0\u2014 no gender identity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CRC\u00a0\u2014 no identity replacing sex<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CAT\u00a0\u2014 no identity-based categories<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2024, Sri Lanka\u2019s Supreme Court confirmed in the Gender Equality Bill that biological sex remains the legal category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA has&nbsp;zero authority&nbsp;to:<br>\u2022 redefine men or women<br>\u2022 create new sex categories<br>\u2022 impose SOGI frameworks<br>\u2022 alter school syllabi<br>\u2022 override constitutions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The LGB vs TQIA++ Distinction<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>LGB&nbsp;(based on biological attraction):<br>\u2022 does NOT require redefining sex<br>\u2022 does NOT alter legal categories<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TQIA++&nbsp;(based on identity):<br>\u2022 requires rewriting the meaning of male and female<br>\u2022 depends on erasing sex<br>\u2022 uses GBV to enter female protections<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is ideological \u2014 not democratic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA\u2019s Overreach Is Illegal, Unscientific, and Dangerous<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA bypasses:<br>\u2022 national parliaments<br>\u2022 treaty ratification<br>\u2022 public consultation<br>\u2022 parental rights<br>\u2022 biological science<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA cannot override state constitutions \u2014 ECOSOC agencies have&nbsp;advisory power only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the&nbsp;largest violation of women\u2019s rights in UN history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Evidence Is Irrefutable<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA has replaced biological sex with ideological identity \u2014<br>a category:<br>\u2022 no parliament approved,<br>\u2022 no treaty defines,<br>\u2022 no scientific field recognizes as equal to sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By inserting identity into GBV, UNFPA is:<br>\u2022 erasing sex-based protections<br>\u2022 rewriting man\u201d and woman\u201d<br>\u2022 displacing women from their own rights<br>\u2022 violating CEDAW<br>\u2022 overriding constitutions<br>\u2022 imposing unratified norms on sovereign states<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the global system remains silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why are governments not defending the sex-based rights of their citizens?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why is the UN allowing an administrative agency to override 193 Member-State treaties?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why are the rights of 4 billion women and 4 billion men being erased without debate or consent?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporting Sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(All from UNFPA or UN system)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unfpa.org\/about-us\">https:\/\/www.unfpa.org\/about-us<\/a>&nbsp;(origins)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/aa.unfpa.org\/frequently-asked-questions\">https:\/\/aa.unfpa.org\/frequently-asked-questions<\/a>&nbsp;(initial goals)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/press.un.org\/en\/1997\/19970317.wom967.html\">https:\/\/press.un.org\/en\/1997\/19970317.wom967.html<\/a>&nbsp;(1997 Press release)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unfpa.org\/press\/gender-mainstreaming\">https:\/\/www.unfpa.org\/press\/gender-mainstreaming<\/a>? (2005 statement)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/unfpa.org\/sites\/default\/files\/resource-pdf\/focusing_gender.pdf\">https:\/\/unfpa.org\/sites\/default\/files\/resource-pdf\/focusing_gender.pdf<\/a>&nbsp;(2005 focusing on gender)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/unfpa.org\/sites\/default\/files\/pub-pdf\/19-132_UNFPA_GenderStrategy-EN.pdf\">https:\/\/unfpa.org\/sites\/default\/files\/pub-pdf\/19-132_UNFPA_GenderStrategy-EN.pdf<\/a>? Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unfpa.org\/genderstrategy\">https:\/\/www.unfpa.org\/genderstrategy<\/a>&nbsp;(UNFPA Gender Strategy 2022-2025)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If This Continues Unchallenged\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UNFPA will permanently replace biological sex with identity ideology in:<br>\u2022 global law<br>\u2022 education<br>\u2022 health systems<br>\u2022 workplace policy<br>\u2022 GBV protection mechanisms<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the&nbsp;most profound human rights violation of the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The world must act now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stop the erasure of biological women.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop the dismantling of sex-based protections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stop UNFPA\u2019s unlawful, unscientific, and undemocratic redefinition of humanity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If UNFPA wishes to extend rights to TQIA++ individuals, it must create a&nbsp;separate category&nbsp;\u2014 not hijack, erase, or override the sex-based rights of 4 billion females and 4 billion males.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No UN Member State has ever voted to replace sex with identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Shenali D. Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shenali D. Waduge by&nbsp;Shenali Waduge&nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp;20th November 2025 For the first time in history, a UN agency is attempting to erase the biological foundations of human rights. UNFPA \u2014 created to protect men and women based on biological sex \u2014 is now redefining these categories without mandate, without science, without democratic consent, and without a single [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153215,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153214\/revisions\/153215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}