Seeds of change: cultivating feminist leadership in the co-operatives of the MENA region
| dc.contributor.author | Najjar, Dina | |
| dc.contributor.author | Oueslati, Dorsaf | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ghanem, Hajer Ben | |
| dc.contributor.author | Amil, Rola | |
| dc.contributor.author | Hssain, Jihad Ait | |
| dc.contributor.author | Nidkazza, Zakaria | |
| dc.contributor.author | Kallida, Rajae | |
| dc.contributor.author | Oussoulous, Nada | |
| dc.contributor.editor | Satija, Shivani | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-10-27T16:03:34Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-10-27T16:03:34Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-09-18 | |
| dc.identifier.isbn | 1364-9221 | |
| dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2025.2523159 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10546/621755 | |
| dc.description | <html> <head> <title></title> </head> <body> <p>This paper examines women’s leadership in local group governance in Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon, highlighting rural co-operatives as key spaces for socioeconomic participation and agency. Based on interviews and focus groups with a total of 917 participants (688 women and 170 men co-operative members, and 59 officials), the study identifies major barriers to women’s leadership, including financial limitations, lack of training, gender stereotypes, and exclusion from policy processes. Despite these obstacles, women-led co-operatives foster economic independence, collective agency, and more-inclusive governance. However, their impact is constrained by normative and policy environments where gender-sensitive governance remains weak. Using Morocco as a case study, the research evaluates targeted interventions – capacity strengthening, theatre forum, and governance workshops – that have enhanced women’s leadership and shifted local perceptions. The study calls for multi-level reforms to expand access to resources and training, challenge restrictive norms, and strengthen co-operation between co-operatives, authorities, and international actors. Empowering women’s grassroots leadership can catalyse broader sociopolitical transformation and advance gender equality across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.</p> </body> </html> | en_US |
| dc.format.extent | 27 | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | English | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Routledge | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Oxfam KEDV | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Oxfam India | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Oxfam Mexico | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Oxfam South Africa | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Oxfam Colombia | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Oxfam Brazil | en_US |
| dc.relation.url | http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/seeds-of-change-cultivating-feminist-leadership-in-the-co-operatives-of-the-men-621755 | |
| dc.subject | Gender | en_US |
| dc.title | Seeds of change: cultivating feminist leadership in the co-operatives of the MENA region | en_US |
| dc.type | Journal article | en_US |
| dc.identifier.eissn | 1355-2074 | |
| dc.identifier.journal | Gender and Development | en_US |
| oxfam.signoff.status | For public use. Can be shared outside Oxfam | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.country | Lebanon | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.country | Morocco | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.country | Tunisia | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.keyword | rural co-operatives | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.keyword | Middle East and North Africa (MENA) | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.keyword | women’s empowerment | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.keyword | feminist leadership | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.keyword | economic participation | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.keyword | collective agency | en_US |
| oxfam.subject.keyword | public policies | en_US |
| prism.issuename | Women’s leadership in politics and governance: understanding the potential of transformative feminist leadership | en_US |
| prism.number | 2 | en_US |
| prism.volume | 33 | en_US |