Countering Backlash: Reclaiming Gender Justice. Synthesis Report of Research Over Six Years

This report of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS)-led research programme ‘Countering Backlash: Reclaiming Gender Justice’ is the result of many people’s work. The report was drafted by Jerker Edström, Tessa Lewin, Sohela Nazneen and Chloe Skinner, with research assistance support from Sarah Austin, Antea De Jesus Gomez, Ben O’Donovan-Iland and Raisa Philip. We authors would like to acknowledge and thank all those involved across the years and the regions. We extend our heartfelt thanks and particularly acknowledge the inspirational work and contributions from across the 11 in-country teams involved, from: the Arab Institute for Women (AiW) at the Lebanese American University (LAU) in Lebanon; Özyeğin University in Türkiye; BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) and BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH) in Bangladesh; SAHAYOG with the Centre for Health and Social Justice (CHSJ) and Gender Sphere (formerly Gender at Work Consulting) in India; Advocates for Social Change Kenya (ADSOCK) in Kenya; the Center for Basic Research (CBR), the Refugee Law Project at Makerere University (RLP) and Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) in Uganda, and finally; the Nucleus of Interdisciplinary Women’s Studies of the Federal University of Bahia (NEIM) in Brazil. In addition, we are thankful to the proactive engagement of colleagues and allies on the programme’s Advisory Group and the informal and evolving ‘Coalition for Gender Justice’ in which we have convened some three-to-four dozen individuals over the last four years, including policymakers and donors, civil society activists, and academics. We would also like to thank key colleagues at IDS in the UK, including Jenny Edwards and Zoe Kamangira for support with contracting, management and copy editing, as well as James Middleton and Shuvopriyo Roy for additional support with copy editing. We express particular thanks to Mrinalini Godara in India for art and design. Finally, we are deeply grateful to countless other participants and community members engaged across all countries, and particularly to the government of Sweden and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and for their steadfast support as sole funder of this programme over the six years.