Aid by Sector
Sustaining Power: Women's struggles against contemporary backlash in South Asia
DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
Women in South Asia have struggled for many decades to improve their lives within their families, in their communities, for securing their livelihoods, and in getting their voices heard as citizens by the state, with women's movements being critical in advancing their rights. However, contemporary social, economic and political changes have created new and multiple forms of backlash and contestations. How do women defend their rights, and secure their gains against these regressive forces and backlash? This question leads our research on the strategies and mechanisms that women use to retain power and sustain gains in women's rights. This research is particularly interested in how different groups of women understanding power and struggle, and how these change over time. We aim to assess what works to defend women's rights, and explain why some struggles are more successful than others in sustaining gains. We think that success of women's struggles depends on a) the types of strategies they use to counter different types of backlash; b) the ways in which struggles include voices and perspectives of different groups of women; and c) the ways in which struggles connect to other movements and groups across local, regional and national levels. The central research question therefore is: When, how, and why do women's power struggles succeed in retaining power and sustaining their gains against backlash? South Asia provides a valuable opportunity to investigate women's struggles. The region has witnessed rapid and large changes over the last decade, including urbanization, rising employment precarity, new electoral laws and regime changes, shifts in social norms, and the spread of digital technology. We aim to examine how these changes create new and multiple forms of backlash; and how women's struggles for power are variously challenged, opened up or are closed down by these changes. We are interested in unraveling the similarities and differences in processes and strategies used by different women's movements to retain power in the face of backlash; and in women's own experiences and interpretations of their struggles as these evolve and adapt over time. We will select 16 cases of women's struggles in four countries that represent the largest populations of South Asia: Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Within each country, we will select on-going and contentious cases of struggle in one of four arenas within which gains in women's rights are being sought: family, community, market and the state. This research will use a variety of methods including: a) identifying and analyzing the types of backlash created by processes of contemporary change; b) mapping critical players and what shapes their motivations for action; c) tracing the struggles, nature and trajectory of each movement to counter backlash - through oral history methods, reflective and participatory techniques, qualitative interviews and archival research; d) undertaking comparative analysis to compare how different movements may have triggered, galvanized or been strengthened by power struggles across different arenas; and e) identifying and systematizing which combinations of mechanisms and strategies work to defend women's rights in South Asia and beyond. This is a collaborative research project that draws together a multi-disciplinary research team with deep in-country and conceptual expertise on women's rights and contemporary power struggles in South Asia. This project includes strong capacity building initiatives and opportunities for learning through reflective processes with women's movements and research partners. This research is ambitious in its scope and we hope that our findings that will be grounded in real life experiences of women, will be relevant and useful for feminist scholars, activists and policy actors to set their future course of action to defend women's rights across the world.
Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF)
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF)
UK Support to The Lifeline Embattled CSO Assistance Fund
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
The funding will support the Lifeline Embattled CSO Assistance Fund to provide small, emergency grants to civil society organizations (CSOs) which are at risk because of their work.
Supporting the Africa-led Movement to End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): Phase II
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
This second phase will continue to work with others to support a movement within countries and globally to raise awareness and understanding of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and build support for efforts to end the practice. Phase I of the programme was called “Towards Ending Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in Africa and Beyond” and ran from 2013-2018.
Serious Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Programme
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To counter serious and organised crime, build the investigative capacity of select partners and close the loopholes in the justice system that hinders the prosecution of cases.
International Justice and Accountability Programme
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
Human Rights central funding to build international justice capacity through programming and small scale funding to posts to promote accountability e.g. Ukraine.
Syria Humanitarian Protection Programme (SHPP)
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
The Syria Protection Programme will provide civilians affected by armed conflict with specialised protection services
Open Society Enabling Fund (OSEF)
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
The Open Societies Enabling Fund is aimed at supporting and bolstering active contributions of civil society groups in defending Indonesia’s open society with the particular context of 2024 national and local elections amidst the trend of shrinking civic space, increased prosecution of human rights defenders, and further entrenchment of minority rights.
Nigeria Governance and Climate Change Programme (NGCP)
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
The NGCP is designed to support more accountable and inclusive institutions to respond to Nigeria’s governance and climate change challenges. This is a governance programme, seeking to address the governance challenges that undermine development and perpetuate social exclusion in Nigeria.
Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRiNG)
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
SPRiNG is to support a more stable and peaceful Nigeria in which citizens benefit from reduced violence, and increased resilience to the pressures of climate change (Impact). It will do this by supporting, and shifting incentives of, Nigerian stakeholders so they are more willing and able to respond to conflict, security, justice and natural resource management challenges in target areas (Outcome). SPRiNG is 15-20% International Climate Finance (ICF) eligible.
Western Balkans – Freedom and Resilience Programme
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
This programme will address long-term, structural issues across the region, including ethno-nationalist division, and support transparency and accountability in government, as well as underlying society challenges such as discrimination and violence against women and girls. The Programme will comprise a portfolio of interventions in three areas: reconciliation and peacebuilding in conflict-affected communities; empowering women and girls and tackling Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) and gender-based violence; and strengthening government capacity, transparency and accountability. Programming will be country-led, with Posts able to bid for funds in support of projects in line with their priorities.
Empowering Palestinian Institutions and Civil Society in the Occupied Palestinian Territories - EPICS OPTs
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
EPICS aims to improve the viability, legitimacy and inclusion of governance and service delivery, to protect and support civic space, and to empower women, in the OPTs. It will provide technical assistance to PA institutions across governance sectors, with a particular focus on financial viability and provision of essential services, in order to protect the fiscal viability and legitimacy of the PA in a declining context. EPICS will protect and support Palestinian civic space by supporting CSOs to hold the PA and other local duty bearers to account for governance and service delivery. EPICS will strengthen women’s empowerment, primarily through supporting coalition building among local and grassroots organisations. Through improving PA viability and legitimacy, it will help reduce the drivers of instability and extremism.
Human Rights Thematic Programming
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To improve human rights and provide better access across the world through strengthening institutions and grassroots organisations.
Aawaz II - Inclusion, Accountability and Preventing Modern Slavery Programme
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To support a Pakistani society and government institutions that support increased voice, choice and control for marginalised groups, protect them from exploitation and prevent discrimination and intolerance at all levels. The programme has a focus on child labour, gender-based violence, child and force marriages, and intolerance against minorities and other socially excluded groups.
Human Rights Magna Carta Programming
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To improve human rights and provide better access across the world by providing posts with funding for small flexible programme
John Bunyan Fund Programming
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To improve human rights and provide better access across the world by providing posts with funding for small flexible programme on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) activities.
Work in Freedom 2 (Tackling modern slavery and human trafficking)
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To reduce vunerabilility to trafficking and forced labour of women and girls across migration pathways leading to the care sector and textiles, clothing, leather and footwear industries of South Asia and the Arab States. At least 350,000 women and girls will be reached at source and destination in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon and Jordan.
LGBT+ Rights Programme – supporting LGBT+ rights organisations
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
This programme will transform the lives of millions of LGBT+ people around the world by reducing violence and discrimination against the LGBT+ community and by improving access to services and legislative reform. This will be achieved through the provision of technical and legal support , learning, evidence and advice and support for grassroots LGBT+ organisations
Global Land Governance programme
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
The goal of the Land Facility is to improve stability, inclusive growth and responsible investment by promoting more effective, efficient and equitable rural and urban land governance. The programme will help build basic capacity and systems and mobilise the necessary political support, so governments can implement and resource sustained land governance reform, leading to improved tenure security for all. Improved tenure security will contribute to a number of climate benefits; transformational change, reduced deforestation, increased resilience and sustainable land management practices. It will run for 7 years and will initially work in up to 10 countries in Africa and South East Asia depending on size and needs.
Bangladesh-Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics (B-CAPP) Programme
UK - Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)
To protect civic space, foster political collaboration, reduce corruption, and mitigate conflict and violence in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh- Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme will mobilise civil society and media coalitions, provide citizens groups with tools to monitor public services, improve decision making within political parties and promote women and youth leadership.
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