Women's rights under attack and 'we must fight back', says UN chief

Women's rights are under attack and "we must fight back," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday, warning that the world cannot stand by as progress is reversed.

At a United Nations event on the eve of International Women's Day on Saturday, Guterres said centuries of discrimination against women were being exacerbated by new threats.

"Digital tools, while brimming with promise, are also often silencing women's voices, amplifying bias, and fuelling harassment," he said on Friday. "Women's bodies have become political battlegrounds."

"And online violence is escalating into real-life violence. Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we are witnessing the mainstreaming of chauvinism and misogyny," Guterres said.

He urged the world to fight back, stressing that gender equality was not just about fairness.

"It is about power – who gets a seat at the table, and who is locked out," Guterres said. "It is about dismantling systems that allow inequalities to fester. And it is about ensuring a better world for all."