Equality Now was founded in 1992 in New York by attorneys Jessica Neuwirth of the United States, Navanethem Pillay of South Africa and Feryal Gharahi. The founders believed that acts of violence against women were violations of the fundamental human rights guarantees as stated in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that the human rights movement to that point had neglected women's rights, dismissing these violations as “cultural” or “private.” At the time, issues such as domestic violence, rape, female genital mutilation, trafficking, and reproductive rights were not part of the agendas of established human rights organizations.