Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality: Synthesis study

Götze, Jacqueline; Klingebiel, Stephan; Khalid, Maryam Working Paper Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality: Synthesis study IDOS Discussion Paper, No. 9/2025 Provided in Cooperation with: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Bonn Suggested Citation: Götze, Jacqueline; Klingebiel, Stephan; Khalid, Maryam (2025) : Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality: Synthesis study, IDOS Discussion Paper, No. 9/2025, ISBN 978-3-96021-254-6, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Bonn, https://doi.org/10.23661/idp9.2025 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/313629 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Local Feminist Perspectives as Transformation Levers for Greater Gender Equality Synthesis Study Jacqueline Götze Stephan Klingebiel Maryam Khalid IDOS DISCUSSION PAPER 9/2025 Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality Synthesis study Jacqueline Götze Stephan Klingebiel Maryam Khalid Bonn 2025 Dr Jacqueline Götze is a researcher in the department “Interand Transnational Cooperation” at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn. Email: [email protected] PD Dr Stephan Klingebiel is Head of the department “Interand Transnational Cooperation” at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). He is Visiting Professor at Ewha Womans University, Seoul (Republic of Korea), Visiting Professor at the University of Turin (Italy) and Honorary Distinguished Fellow at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (India). Email: [email protected] Maryam Khalid is an intern at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Development Studies at the University of Bayreuth. This study is part of the research project “Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality”, which is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) as a GIZ selffinanced measure. It has been conducted by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), in cooperation with three partner organisations: the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre (Ghana), the Goa Institute of Management (India) and Gender in Detail (Ukraine). The German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) is institutionally financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), based on a resolution of the German Bundestag, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) as a member of the Johannes-Rau-Forschungsgemeinschaft (JRF). Suggested citation: Götze, J., Klingebiel, S., & Khalid, M. (2025). Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality: Synthesis study (IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025). Bonn: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). https://doi.org/10.23661/idp9.2025 Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). Except otherwise noted, this publication is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0). You are free to copy, communicate and adapt this work, as long as you attribute the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) gGmbH and the author(s). IDOS Discussion Paper / German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) gGmbH ISSN 2751-4439 (Print) ISSN 2751-4447 (Online) ISBN 978-3-96021-254-6 (Print) DOI: https://doi.org/10.23661/idp9.2025 © German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) gGmbH Tulpenfeld 6, 53113 Bonn Email: [email protected] https://www.idos-research.de Printed on eco-friendly, certified paper. IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 III Acknowledgements We would like to thank particularly Ina Friesen for her commitment to this project and publication as our IDOS colleague and beyond. We also want to thank our colleagues Tina Zintl and Dorothea Wehrmann for their valuable feedback on an earlier version of this paper. Furthermore, we want to express our gratitude to our IDOS internal “sounding board” members of our research project “Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers towards more gender equality” in addition to Tina Zintl, Lena Gutheil, Sebastian Haug, Michael Roll and Alexander Stöcker. Special thanks also to our colleagues Julian Bergmann, Niels Keijzer and Anna Novoselova for supporting the project, of which this paper is one key output. We also want to thank our colleagues Nona Saeedghazi and Lydia Mutongu for their helpful research assistance. Special thanks also go to Nora Pistor, Robin Schmitz and Charlotte Sophie Louise Cramer at GIZ for sharing their comments on the study and their tireless support of the research project. Moreover, we want to thank our colleagues Christiane Weller and Mark Theisen: Their support during the course of the project made this discussion paper and the different discussion formats as part of our methodology possible. Special thanks also to our colleague Cornelia Hornschild for her support during the publication process. We also want to thank the participants of our roundtable discussion in Bonn in October 2024, which gave the partner organisations and the team at IDOS the chance to share and discuss preliminary research results. Lastly and most importantly, we want to thank our colleagues from our partner organisations, Sreerupa Sengupta and Divya Singhal from the Goa Institute of Management; Ananya Chakraborty from the World Resource Institute (India); Fidelia Ohemeng and Deda Ogum Alangea from the University of Ghana; Deborah Tayo Akakpo and Dorcas Coker-Appiah from the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre (Ghana); as well as Olena Strelnyk, Luidmyla Yuzva and Tamara Zlobina from Gender in Detail (Ukraine). This discussion paper builds on your work (Ohemeng, Ogum, Akakpo, & Coker-Appiah, 2025; Sengupta, Singhal, & Chakraborty, 2025; Strelnyk, Yuzva, & Zlobina, 2025), your stories, as well as your expertise and experiences shared with us during our exchanges in Bonn, Accra and Delhi. IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 IV Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Executive summary 1 1 Introduction: content and methodological embedding 4 1.1 Studying local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality 4 1.2 Where are we coming from? Guiding concepts and frameworks 6 1.2.1 Setting the scene: overview of scholarship on feminist approaches in development and foreign policies 7 1.2.2 Across the globe: feminist approaches in foreign and development policies 9 1.2.3 Glimpses from partner countries’ discourses on feminisms 11 1.3 Methodological considerations: how to synthesise the case studies prepared by the partner organisations 13 1.3.1 Case selection and presentation of cases 13 1.3.2 A feminist research ethic, reflexivity and positionality 14 1.3.3 Participatory action research 15 1.3.4 Methodological approaches used by the case studies prepared by the partner organisations 16 1.3.5 Rationale and approach of the synthesis study 17 2 Synthesis: discussion and reflections on case studies prepared by the partner organisations 18 2.1 Clusters 20 2.1.1 Intersectionality 21 2.1.2 Special characteristics of local feminisms and gender (in)equalities 21 2.1.3 Multi-directional flow of norms 23 2.1.4 Challenges and opportunities for gender-transformative change 25 2.1.5 Future of gender-transformative policies 27 2.2 Further conceptual discussions 28 3 Conclusions 32 References 37 Annex 44 Executive summaries of case studies prepared by the partner organisations 44 Executive summary from the Ghanaian case study 44 Executive summary from the Indian case study 47 Executive summary from the Ukrainian case study 51 IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 V Figures Figure 1: Matrix of clustered criteria for synthesis 21 Figure 2: Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality 28 Tables Table 1: Definition of concepts 11 Table 2: Overview of methodological approaches used by the partners 17 Boxes Box 1: Feminist approaches in Germany’s foreign and development policies 10 Box 2: Abstracts from the case studies prepared by the partner organisations 19 IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 VI Abbreviations EU European Union FFP feminist foreign policy GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Agency for International Cooperation) HIV human immunodeficiency virus HLPF High-Level Political Forum IDOS German Institute of Development and Sustainability IR international relations LGBTQIA* lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/aromantic/agender NGO non-governmental organisation SDG Sustainable Development Goal UN United Nations UN Women United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women WPS Women Peace and Security IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 1 Executive summary The global landscape of gender equality is increasingly being challenged by armed conflicts, the worsening climate and environmental crises, autocratisation and anti-gender campaigns. In most parts of the world, girls, women, LGBTQIA* communities and other marginalised genders are not only prone to be victims of violence, but their active participation in politics and decision-making is also limited and made insignificant. Sweden introduced the first feminist foreign policy in 2014, followed by others, including Germany in 2023, which adopted a feminist approach in their development and foreign policies. The idea of incorporating gender sensitivity into development and foreign policy is not a new concept though, as it may refer to a range of initiatives that prioritised the involvement of females and other marginalised genders in development processes by challenging traditional gender binaries. Feminist policies – despite claiming to adopt a post-colonial, anti-racist and intersectional framework – are frequently criticised in academic scholarship and by practitioners for their potential inapplicability to diverse contexts in partner countries and for perpetuating paternalistic or neocolonial behaviours. Considering the recent trend of right-wing policies in influencing politics all over the globe, discourses in research on feminist policies raise critical questions about its limitation and institutionalisation. In this context, we introduce local feminist perspectives with this study as having the potential to act as transformation levers for greater gender equality by producing context-specific alternative approaches to development processes that address prevailing gender norms and practices. A set of criteria was developed – based on factors of gender (in)equality, geography/world region, civil society landscape, the socio-political and socio-economic situations in and of the countries – for the selection of the partner countries to inform our understanding of local feminist perspectives. This synthesis study builds on the expertise, knowledge and experiences of the colleagues from three partner organisations in Ghana, India and Ukraine. The aim of the synthesis is to identify the common patterns and differences among various local feminist perspectives and researchers, while also facilitating a conversation between different local feminist perspectives and scholarship on foreign and development policies following feminist agendas. Furthermore, we want to inquire about gender norms, practices and structural barriers that hinder gender-transformative policies, and seek to uncover often overlooked local feminist perspectives in the national context (see Roy, 2016). The study then further explores how these local perspectives can offer alternative approaches to development processes, improve women’s, girls’ and LGBTQIA* persons’ access to resources, and improve their effective participation in political processes and decision-making. Overall, these questions aim to understand how local feminist knowledge and experiences can be utilised to create more inclusive, equitable and sustainable development strategies. We also took into account feminist calls for reflection upon inherent power asymmetries in knowledge construction and how methodological choices contribute to the study’s qualitative framework. As methodological considerations of this synthesis study, along with a feminist ethic, we focused on participatory action research while applying an inductive and explorative approach. When we approached the partner organisations with the idea of a commissioned study on local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality, we deliberately avoided further conceptualising local feminist perspectives, transformation levers and gender equality. Instead, we see the main conceptual contribution of this synthesis study as exactly this: the synthesising of the case studies prepared by the partner organisations, their conceptualisation and the applications of such terms. Accordingly, this study does not present a conceptual framework in detail, but we have prepared a table (Table 1) with our definitions of the most relevant concepts and terms necessary to analyse local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality. As part of the synthesis section (Section 2), we discuss and reflect the partners’ approaches and contextualise them against the backdrop of scholarly debates in feminist research. These discussions then build on the case studies IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 8 (Nylund et al., 2023). Partis-Jennings and Eroukhmanoff (2024) provide an overview of feminist policy-making in multiple areas of policy and examine various gender-focused programmes that states and international organisations have undertaken in the last decade. The scholarship on the theoretical and analytical foundation of FFP paves the way for understanding and evaluating the discourses around feminist policies. Several scholars examine the development of FFP by analysing the underlying strategies and narratives that shape and inform these policies. In this regard, Scheyer and Kumskova (2019) contribute to the scholarship with an analysis of FFPs and how they reflect an authentically feminist approach. A theoretical contribution by Uspenskaya and Kozlova (2022) introduces five factors that have influenced the development of FFP. The authors name (1) thinkers like de Pizan, von Suttner, Addams and their ideas on a world free of violence, (2) the International Congress of Women in 1915 and the International Congress of Working Women in 1919, (3) the scholarship of feminist IR, (4) norm entrepreneurs and (5) United Nations (UN) initiatives, for example the Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Färber contributes empirically and theoretically to the scholarship with a focus on which actors are involved in the knowledge production around FFP and the reproduction of its narratives (Achilleos-Sarll et al., 2023). Aggestam and True (2020) add an empirical and theoretical contribution with their research on strategies of the instrumentalisation of “gender” as a category in foreign (and development) policies. To the field of empirical/theoretical contributions belong the works by Zhukova et al. (2022) on the use of FFPs as strategic narratives while referring to IR theories of norm translation and strategic narratives. With their theoretical work on the question of whether an FFP can be undone, Towns et al. (2024) share reflections from Sweden and explore the sustainability of the Swedish FFP. The authors find three aspects concerning the governance of FFP that prevent the withdrawal from a feminist agenda: international law, decentralised foreign policy implementation as well as international role expectations (Towns et al., 2024, p. 1264). Accordingly, the authors also critically reflect on equalising FFP with the Swedish example, as “it was embedded in a web of international norms, institutions and agreements on women’s rights and gender equality, hosted by regional and global organisations” (Towns et al., p. 1268). Feminist policies, unlike “traditional” policies, are grounded in historical feminist struggles and movements, which, upon effective implementation, become self-sustaining and less dependent on political or legal frameworks. With a focus on local feminist perspectives, we can address this gap in the literature of endemic, local understandings and discourses on feminism(s). Other scholars in the field expand their analyses by identifying missing links and proposing frameworks that can enhance the formulation and implementation of feminist policies, in the local and international contexts. Achilleos-Sarll et al. (2023) elaborates on the missing link between FFP and the climate and environmental crises as well as on the absence of reflections on humans’ relations with each other and the planet. Robinson (2024) attributes problems with FFP’s implementation to the lack of epistemological and ethical frameworks as well as underlying presumptions that fail to sufficiently question colonial and hierarchical structures and rely on binary approaches that further perpetuate power imbalances. Kantola and Lombardo (2019) analyse the relationship between feminist politics and both left populism (in Spain) and right populism (in Finland), and they suggest that political matters for the implementation of feminist policies and left parties are more responsive to feminist ideas. With their article from 2020 on “Gendering Foreign Policy”, Aggestam and True suggest a theoretical framework on gendering foreign policy that shall allow cross-national comparative studies. In addition, Madadli (2024) offers a thematic analysis of integrating ethical principles in FFP implementation, highlighting the importance of striking a balance between feminist ideals and the practicalities of foreign (and development) policy. In her exploratory research, Rathore (2024) emphasises the forgotten contributions of the non-Western world – especially women – to FFP discourses, advocating for a more inclusive approach in the study of IRs that integrates gender and ethics. IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 9 1.2.2 Across the globe: feminist approaches in foreign and development policies In the next step, we critically examine the practical aspects of the effective translation of feminist agendas into actionable strategies and meaningful outcomes. The majority of available studies focus on Western states’ feminist policies. As Sweden was the first country to adopt an FFP, the scholarship on feminist approaches to foreign policy has a strong empirical focus on Sweden (Aggestam & Bergman Rosamond, 2019; Aggestam & True, 2020, 2024; Aggestam et al., 2024, 2018; George, 2022; Nylund et al., 2023; Sundström et al., 2021; Towns et al., 2024). Others explore FFP in Canada (Robinson, 2024), France (Eroukhmanoff, 2024) or provide a comparison between Canada, France, Spain and Mexico (Thomson, 2024). The wide recognition of Sweden as a trendsetter and the approaches to understanding FFP through the angle of Western policies have been criticised for ignoring non-Western frameworks and historical contributions, especially those arising from post-colonial contexts (Rathore, 2024). Certain scholars highlight though that, even without calling a foreign policy explicitly feminist, other countries, for example in South Asia, have implemented feminist-informed measures in their policies before, for example in India (Parashar & D’Costa, 2017). All these contributions take a rather national perspectives, as they referring to the official documents prepared by the governments themselves. What is missing is a focus on how/if local perspectives across and beyond national borders feed into these understandings of feminism(s). FFP has been described as “something without clear form, which is continually unfolding across different contexts” (Achilleos-Sarll et al., 2023, p. 4). Parashar and D’Costa (2017) combine this observation with a critique of the coloniality that is carried and reproduced by FFP approaches (see also Achilleos-Sarll et al., 2023; Uspenskaya & Kozlova, 2022). These authors highlight the differences in the uses of the terms “feminist” and “feminisms” in other state’s approaches, and they highlight that countries in South Asia, like India, have implemented feminist-informed measures in their policies without calling their foreign policies explicitly feminist. They also identify blind spots in the discourses that shaped FFP from feminist perspectives – from peace activists across the globe and from anti-colonial thinkers in the Global South (Uspenskaya & Kozlova, 2022, p. 5; see also Achilleos-Sarll et al., 2023). In addition, Parashar and D’Costa (2017, p. 28) point out that feminist struggles in the Global South challenge both the local patriarchies and the epistemic violence of the Global North. In this criticism, they link feminist discourses with (post-)colonial discourses, which is an understudied area (Uspenskaya & Kozlova, 2022, p. 5). As a theoretical contribution, Kirby elaborates on feminism and realism, while Thomson and Färber focus on FFP and power asymmetries between the so-called Global South and Global North (Achilleos-Sarll et al., 2023). Here, the feminist policies are challenged for exactly what they are claiming to do differently: From a more local perspective, a feminist development or foreign approach can be seen as a concept that might not be applicable to different contexts in partner countries. When feminist foreign and development approaches ignore non-Western perspectives and fail to adapt to local realities, they contradict their intent to promote gender equality, address power asymmetries and risk of being perceived as paternalistic or (neo-)colonial. It is a revealing tension between domestic and foreign priorities, both within the donor–recipient relationship and within the country itself. Aggestam and True (2024) analyse the gendered dynamics in foreign policies against the backdrop of contrary trends in contemporary global politics, with countries implementing feminist approaches in their foreign policies on the one hand, and misogyny governments on the other hand. For instance, Thomson’s section (2024) investigates the concept and implications of FFP while also reflecting on the risk of a superficial adoption of the agenda without any significant changes. Eroukhmanoff (2024) critically analyses French feminist diplomacy, emphasising the contradictions between France’s self-portrayal as a leader in gender equality and the complex, often troubled realities of its domestic gender politics. Tamang (2024) also critically examines India’s FFP, highlighting how its outward commitment to progressive feminism and gender equality serves to conceal internal realities of racism, IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 10 violence and militarisation. Bergman Rosamond (2024) deals with the tension between the achievements of Sweden’s FFP on a global scale and its limited influence on Sweden’s own society. Box 1: Feminist approaches in Germany’s foreign and development policies As part of the coalition treaty between the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party and the Liberal Party,2 the German government announced in 2021 that their foreign, development and defence policies will follow a feminist approach.3 In their official policy documents and communications, both the German Federal Minister for Development Cooperation, Svenja Schulze, and the German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Annalena Baerbock, stress the necessity to link the focus on marginalised genders to more general attempts to decolonise foreign and development policies. They propose a human-centred and rightsbased approach that takes into account intersectionality, meaning the intersections of different dimensions of social and gender identities and their (reinforcing) patterns of discrimination and marginalisation. Against this backdrop, the ministries seek to link their feminist approach to broader academic and practitioners’ debates on post-colonialities, decoloniality and (gendered) power asymmetries in development cooperation and foreign affairs. However, in a 2024 opinion monitor, Bruder, Gödderz, Schneider and Zille (2024, pp. 67-90) present how feminist development policy is seen and understood in German society. Feminist development policy as a concept is more commonly known in German society (in 2024, 52 per cent of the respondents, from which 27 per cent said they know what it is about). The number of those who support this agenda has decreased from 59 per cent to 52 per cent from 2023 to 2024. In contrast, more respondents support a human-rights-based approach or a peacebuilding approach. Labelling the policy “feminist” further leads to stronger differences between supporters of different parties (polarising impact). Moreover, there is more support if instrumental (gender equality as a means to achieve other goals) and normative arguments (gender equality as a human right) are combined (see also Schneider, Gödderz, Zille, & Sassenhagen, 2024). The detachment of global feminist agendas and policies from the local contexts highlights the necessity for a nuanced, intersectional and context-specific understanding of local feminist perspectives for gender-transformative change. The existing literature largely focuses on the conceptualisation and institutionalisation of feminist development and foreign policies, with comparatively limited attention given to the analysis of these policies from the local/national contexts in the partner countries. Scholars analyse feminist policies from implementing countries’ perspective, while devoting little attention to the perspectives of recipient countries that are directly affected by their development and foreign policies. The discussion therefore excludes local feminist perspectives from partner countries and their considerations as transformation levers for greater gender equality. 2 The Liberal Party left the coalition on 7 November 2024. According to the German Federal Ministry of Justice (2024), the election to the 21st German Bundestag (Parliament) shall be held on 23 February 2025. At the time of writing this synthesis study, it is not clear if a new government will continue with a feminist approach for the foreign and development policy portfolio. 3 Germany joined the International Alliance for Feminist Movement in September 2024 (BMZ, 2024b). IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 11 Table 1: Definition of concepts Concept Definition Local feminist perspectives Feminisms stand for “critical perspectives on social and political life” (Ackerly & True, 2020, p. 1) through the lens of gender, race, coloniality, (dis)ability, age and/or social/economic class. The variety of different feminisms across the world build a mosaic of diverse perspectives. Transformation lever The idea of transformation entails a drastic change from a status quo to a (radical) new status, often in the field of societal, ecological and/or economic transformations (Schneidewind, 2018). The concept of “levers” refers to the notion of an accelerating effect of a certain measure, initiative or perspective that could influence other actors or areas. Intersectionality The concept describes how different elements of identity intersect and result in specific experiences of oppression and privilege for different groups (Crenshaw, 1989). Gender equality “Gender equality means that the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of individuals will not depend on whether they are male or female [or non-binary], handicapped or able bodied, young or elderly, white or black, or from rural or urban settings” (United Nations Population Fund, 2023). Gender norms Ge nder norms are a subset of social norms. They describe acceptable and unacceptable gendered expectations, behaviours and practices (Marcus & Somji, 2024). Patriarchy A system of gendered power relations that favours males or individuals identified as males by others (Marcus & Somji, 2024, p. 15). Epistemic injustices can only be resolved by an active promotion of justice, acknowledgement of the value of marginalised people’s testimonies and the strive for more inclusive knowledge systems (Cummings, Dhewa, Kemboi, & Young, 2023). For this purpose, the synthesis study also takes into account feminist calls for a reflection upon inherent power asymmetries in knowledge construction and approached the partner organisations with no conceptualisations about local feminist perspectives, transformation levers or gender equality. In light of this debate, the next sub-section presents the local contexts of Ghana, India and Ukraine – the partner countries for this synthesis study – their conceptualisations of various terms relevant to this study, as well as the attempts to understand how feminist discourses vary across different settings and require policies that are specifically tailored to these unique contexts. 1.2.3 Glimpses from partner countries’ discourses on feminisms To contextualise these strands of literature with the contexts of the partner countries, we want to briefly relate to the rich feminist literature focusing on women’s roles, rights, and representation, particularly exploring how cultural, political and social structures impact women’ rights and experiences in Ghana, India and Ukraine. This is not meant to duplicate the work done in the studies conducted by the partner organisations, but rather to situate the case studies prepared by the partner organisations in the different scholarships. Therefore, we can only present glimpses from the partner countries’ discourses on feminisms in the remainder of this section. The rich Ghanaian feminist literature covers a wide array of topics, ranging from gender representation (Ako-Nai & Obamamoye, 2018), cultural and structural challenges for gender equality (Odame, 2014), and barriers to political participation (Boakye, 2009; Odame, 2010), rape myths, attitudes (Boakye, 2009; Fakunmoju et al., 2021), women’s empowerment and leadership (Tripp, 2023). Broader themes covered are the women’s movement for gender quotas in Nigeria and Ghana (2000-2016), women in politics (in reference to the women’s empowerment framework), traditional women leaders, Abantu for Development (in the Women’s IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 12 Manifesto for Ghana) and the relevance of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 for women’s rights in Ghana.4 These research papers highlight the importance of addressing cultural, structural and systemic barriers to women’s rights and representation in Ghana, and they advocate for targeted policies and reforms to empower women and promote gender equality in all spheres of life. The literature on Indian feminisms is equally complex and diverse, covering intersectionality (Kaymaz Mert & Ünsal, 2022; Nanditha, 2021), the role of cultural narratives for feminist movements (Mount, 2020; Narayan, 1998, 2019) and their historical development (Bharti & Goyal, 2021), the link between feminisms and the digital space (Jain, 2020; Nanditha, 2021), critiques of Western feminism (e.g. Narayan, 1998, 2019) and neoliberal influences (Gupta, 2016). All in all, these studies cover two broad areas relating to representation and voice as well as empowerment and agency in Indian feminist research. By looking at the cases of Ghana and India, relevant topics dealt with by feminist researchers are gender-based violence and societal attitudes, feminist activism and digital platforms, the cultural context and feminist theory, political representation and gender quotas, intersectionality and inclusivity, Global South perspectives, and empowerment through education and literature. The emphasis on intersectionality and inclusivity further underscores the complexity of women’s issues in both Ghana and India, highlighting the necessity for tailored approaches in feminist activism and policy-making. The scholarship on Ukrainian feminisms covers four broad themes. One theme refers to Ukraine’s position “between the West and the East, the North and South” and addresses its being a post-socialist society. Hrytsenko (2022) situates Ukrainian feminism between the West and Russia, Channell-Justice (2020) explores feminist research and activism in post-socialist societies, and Santoire (2023) concentrates on the WPS agenda and its missing focus on postSoviet spaces. Santoire identifies a metageography and in-betweenness of post-Soviet regions as neither Global North nor Global South, describing it as a “Second World” while referring to the rearrangement from East/West geopolitical imaginaries to South/North after the end of the Cold War. The second broad theme covered by Ukrainian feminist scholarship describes the relationship between women, military and war. Here, Martsenyuk and Grytsenko (2017) elaborate on women and the military in Ukraine, Oliker (2022) investigates gender dynamics shaping the war and O’Sullivan (2019, 2022) concentrates on the WPS agenda in Ukraine. O’Sullivan (2019) describes the Ukrainian National Action Plan as following a too narrow militarised form of the WPS agenda due to the ongoing conflict, nationalistic feminism and the influence of international organisations. Her work from 2020 connects WPS scholarship with feminist security studies and feminist political economy and demonstrates that post-war neoliberal economy and gender-responsive peace-building in Ukraine clash with each other. A third theme focuses on women and nation-building, with Zhurzhenko (2001) elaborating on the role of women in nationand state-building, and Hrycak and Rewakowicz (2009) highlighting the role of East European intellectuals in building foundations for democratic institutions through the establishment of Ukrainian feminist micro-publics. Transnationalist feminisms and (gendered) regional dynamics form a fourth theme within Ukrainian feminist scholarship, with Sharova (2022) exploring the gender dimension in political processes in post-communist states in Eastern Europe and Hrycak (2007) exploring the link between transnationalism and feminist movements in Ukraine. The common thread across Ghanaian, Indian and Ukrainian feminist studies is the exploration of the ways in which cultural, political and social structures impact women’s rights and experiences. They collectively advocate for a more nuanced understanding of feminism(s) that considers local contexts and the need for systemic changes to address gender-based violence 4 The Beijing Conference was “pivotal for formulating ideas and goals for gender and development, culminating with the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action – arguably the most progressive blueprint ever to advance women’s rights” (Towns et al., 2024, p. 1268). IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 13 and enhance women’s political representation. At the same time, there is a significant lack of scholarship examining how these elements interconnect and intersect to address both global and context-specific development challenges towards greater gender equality. Following a multi-directional understanding of norm flows and travels (Zwingel, 2012), this study explores how norms at various levels and scale influence each other and how they can be changed to support developments towards gender-transformative change. In order to provide a more comprehensive analysis of these concepts and their role as transformation levers, the next subsection outlines the methodological considerations of this study that seek to ensure a deeper understanding and reflection on the case studies prepared by the partner organisations. 1.3 Methodological considerations: how to synthesise the case studies prepared by the partner organisations The literature on feminist development and foreign policies provided a foundational understanding of the latest global feminist discourses and frameworks, and it pointed to the need to develop strategies for driving gender-transformative change in localised and context-sensitive feminist agendas. In total, three partner organisations in Ghana, India and Ukraine, which were selected based on a carefully defined set of criteria, contributed to this study with their expertise, knowledge and experiences of national contexts. The methodological framework in this synthesis study was created with the intent of enabling a research process that captures global and local feminist perspectives, while prioritising a feminist research ethic, ensuring participatory action research approaches, and integrating theoretical foundations for a synthesis. 1.3.1 Case selection and presentation of cases The case selection was based on a set of criteria that helped in identifying three countries of particular relevance to our research questions and the overall research objectives of the project. These criteria included the state of gender (in)equality in the country, the country’s socioeconomic situation/development status and its socio-political/fragility status, as well as its civil society landscape. Furthermore, we wanted to include countries that differed in population sizes, political systems (e.g. presidential, parliamentary, semi-presidential; decolonised states, postsocialist societies) and geographical locations to cover a variety of societies and political systems in our sample. Ghana has been an independent state since 1957, and with that it became the first independent state in sub-Saharan Africa. Ghana is a unitary presidential constitutional democracy with a multi-party system. Ghanaians had an influential role in decolonisation and Pan-African movements. Before its independence, Ghana was under Portuguese and British colonial administration, and it is a founding member of the Non-Alignment Movement and the African Union. It is also a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It has around 31 million inhabitants. With a view towards questions concerning gender equality, in Ghana there are matrilineal and patrilineal societies,5 offering an interesting lens to analyse gender norms as well as barriers to transformative change. India has been an independent state since 1947 and a federal republic since 1950. It is constituted as a democratic parliamentary structure with a multi-party system. India is also part of the Non-Aligned Movement and supported decolonisation processes in Africa and Asia. India 5 In Ghana, individuals identify their lineage through either matrilineal or patrilineal ties, that is, through the female or male bloodline, forming the basis of their familial affiliations (Kutsoati & Morck, 2016). In Indian matrilineal societies, even the authority and power of men is inherited from women (Goswami, 2024). IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 14 is the most populous country of the world, with around 1.4 billion inhabitants. Although certain scholars identified feminist ideals in Indian politics (Parashar, 2016), in terms of gender (in)equality, India is “among the countries that are considered as least gender sensitised” (Malik, 2021, p. 290). Similar to Ghana, in India there are matrilineal and patrilineal societies as well as differences between traditional societies and urban areas – in terms of gender (in)equality – that can inform studies on gender norms. Ukraine became an independent state in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is a semi-presidential republic and a unitary state. Ukraine has approximately 33 million inhabitants. Russia started its war against Ukraine in 2014 with the illegal annexation of Crimea and a destablisation processes in eastern Ukraine. In February 2022, Russia launched a fullscale invasion of Ukraine, which has also had an influence on societal roles, for example gendered citizenships, and the work of feminist movements. According to a report by UN Women (2022), “Rapid Gender Analysis of Ukraine”, the issues of social development and gender equality are being neglected because of the current war, despite the fact that the situation has exacerbated gender inequality, discrimination and disproportionate levels of violence against women and girls. Zychowicz (2020, p. 5) described this issue in Ukraine as the “common sidelining of women’s needs and experiences evident throughout periods of uncertainty”. Within nationalist contexts, the feminist themes in Ukrainian literature can be traced back to 1890, when women writers and journalists in the pre-Soviet era formed organisations to resolve women’s issues and advocate for gender equality (Martsenyuk, 2023). Their writings have spawned modern female voices and movements such as Femen, which have modified Western ideas of feminism to address local social and political issues through revolutionary and rebellious actions. 1.3.2 A feminist research ethic, reflexivity and positionality The methodological considerations of this study are based on a feminist research ethic, which can be framed as a methodological commitment to any set of research practices that reflect on power of epistemology, boundaries, relationships, and the multiple dimensions of the researcher’s location throughout the research process and to a normative commitment to transforming the social order in order to promote gender justice. (Ackerly & True, 2020, p. 2) Relations between and within societies, particularly those between the so-called Global South and Global North, are shaped by power asymmetries with people(s) belonging to more powerful socio-economic, majority groups and others belonging to groups with less-accepted socioeconomic status (Foucault, 1977; Ziai, 2015). A feminist research ethic “helps us to reflect on and attend to dynamics of power, knowledge, relationships, and context throughout the research process” (Ackerly & True, 2020, p. 2) through a gendered lens. A feminist research ethic refers to the epistemological dimension of research (theory of knowledge), the methodology (theory and analysis of research) as well as the methods (techniques for gathering evidence) (Ackerly & True, 2020, p. 9). A feminist research ethic calls for critical reflection as a work ethic and an understanding of the “provisionality and contingency of data and the construction of knowledge through categorization and boundaries” (Ackerly & True, 2020, p. 2). Such categories and boundaries also need, in turn, to be reflected upon and related in “non-essentialist and transformative ways” (Ackerly & True, 2020, p. 2). This methodological commitment also sets the objectives of the research conducted as serving overarching “feminist goals of social justice” (Ackerly & True, 2020, p. 7). To this end, research questions need to be of relevance for those who are participating in or being affected by the research (Ackerly & True, 2020, p. 258; Gervais, Weber, & Caron, 2020, part 2, p. 15). The principles of a feminist ethic guide this synthesis and its approach to critically reflect on the knowledge and experiences shared by the partners in IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 15 their studies, address the question of power dynamics, and navigate the boundaries and categorisation of our cross-cultural research. By referring to the feminist call for reflections upon categories and boundaries used and applied in the process of knowledge construction, we want to introduce another dimension of feminist research around questions of reflexivity and positionality. Reflexivity “can serve as a tool to dismantle embedded power hierarchies” (Bilgen, Nasir, & Schöneberg, 2022, p. 2) in the research process. Being reflexive supports identifying “dominant forms of knowledge production” (Bilgen et al., 2022, p. 2) while not problematising subjectivity but embracing it. Positionalities, (intersecting) identities of race, class, gender, sex, ethnicity, citizenship(s), (dis)ability and age shape our analyses that “are inevitably subjective” (Bilgen et al., 2022, p. 3). With such a “subjective lens” (Bilgen et al., 2022, p. 3), we highlight that our contribution can be only one among many – what Bilgen et al. (2022) call “pluriversal dialogues” (p. 3). These pluriversal dialogues are, in turn, needed to question and contest notions of neutrality and objectivity of knowledge production in science. Hence, reflexivity and positionality are interlinked, with reflexivity being the process of becoming aware of one’s positionalities firstly, and of the roles that one’s positionalities play in the research process and how they shape the research results secondly. In this way, being reflexive about positionalities means also to better understand how research processes construct and reinforce hierarchical power relations (Bilgen et al., 2022, p. 5). Accordingly, Bilgen et al. (2022) describe positionality as the “in-betweenness” of the researchers’ identities and the research process/ the knowledge construction. Furthermore, this in-betweenness points to the character and circumstances of issues that development studies deal with, for instance questions of poverty and inequality (Bilgen et al., 2022, p. 5). Building on the idea of “pluriversal dialogues”, we frame local feminist perspectives as informing alternative approaches to development by challenging “development as a powerful discourse” (Bilgen et al., 2022, pp. 3-5). To reflect on our own positionalities, we all share different characteristics and linked types of privileges that inform responsibilities along the phases of the research process (Degai et al., 2022). We all are part of established discourses and power asymmetries. Working with colleagues from partner organisations was a deliberate choice, as we do not want to interpret “local” feminist perspectives from other parts of the world, but want to deconstruct inherent discursive hierarchies. For the commissioned studies implemented by the partner organisations, we have set a broad framework but have always communicated that we are interested in their perspectives and stories. We are conscious that the term “feminism” does not serve as a door opener in all contexts, and that the do-no-harm approach shall lead our work. Nevertheless, we are aware of the asymmetric relationship between our colleagues in the partner countries and our team. The colleagues at our partner organisations themselves then stand in relationships with their research participants, which describes their additional role as bridge builders. In the exchange with us, the colleagues at the partner organisations represent “local” perspectives, but together with their research participants, they fulfil another role on another scale. This circumstance is informed by fluid identities describing different positionalities in different spaces, situations and contexts. 1.3.3 Participatory action research Accordingly, for the topic of this study – local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality – we introduce as methodological considerations participatory action research as part of our operationalisation (Reid, Tom, & Frisby, 2006), which is needed to address existing power asymmetries and for the alignment with a feminist research ethic. Participatory action research is intended to act towards social justice by being directed towards root causes of (gendered) inequalities. By applying this framework for the study, we stress the relevance and role of the work of our partner organisations and their research participants. With this project, we have set the broad framework for the research, but we gave the partners full ownership about how this research is implemented and designed in detail. Through different IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 16 types of workshops – either online or in person, organised as kick-off workshops at the beginning of the project, as interim workshops in the partner countries and in Germany as well as a joint in-person workshop – we sought to provide space for exchange and mutual learning, among and between the partner organisations and with our team. The in-person workshop – with all partner organisations and us coming together – further allowed us to discuss our ideas for the synthesis study and how we aim to contextualise the results from the case studies prepared by the partner organisations against the backdrop of research on feminist development and foreign approaches. Moreover, our partner organisations applied participatory approaches in their studies by acknowledging the contributions of the research participants to their research. 1.3.4 Methodological approaches used by the case studies prepared by the partner organisations We have compiled the methodological approaches used by the partner organisations in Table 2 to show their diversity as well as commonalities.6 Both the Ghanaian and Indian studies have followed a qualitative approach for their data collection and analysis, while the Ukrainian study has applied a mixed-methods approach by combining qualitative and quantitative elements. All the partners conducted comprehensive reviews of the available literature on legislation, policies and activism within their respective countries. Similarly, all of them engaged with activists, experts and representatives of local organisations, both individually and in groups, to gather data for their studies. In addition, the Ukrainian study was unique for incorporating a survey that reached people from all regions, including occupied territories, as well as members of the diaspora, some of whom were forcibly displaced abroad or left due to the war. The current conflict restricted Ukrainian partners to online approaches, unlike Ghana and India, where interviews and group activities were held both virtually and in-person. 6 We have summarised and compiled the overview of methodological approaches used by the case studies prepared by the partner organisations, adhering to the same terminologies as the case studies to maintain clarity and consistency. IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 17 Table 2: Overview of methodological approaches used by the partners Ghana India Ukraine Overview Cross-sectional study that used qualitative approach for data collection Qualitative study drawing on both primary and secondary data sources Mixed-method study design that combines quantitative and qualitative methods Literature review Desk review of information on activism, laws and policies from the last two decades Literature review of policy documents, legislation, data and other interventions Desk study of legislations, socio-cultural practices, and feminist initiatives, in the context of war Survey Web survey was filled out by 720 participants from all regions of Ukraine (including occupied territories, Crimea and diaspora) Interviews Individual interviews with 35 local representatives were held in-person and virtually Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) include 12 interviews with experts and 18 with local organisations In-depth interviews with 20 feminist researchers and activists were conducted online Validation Validation workshop was carried out in hybrid format in Accra for 30 participants Stakeholder dialogue was conducted in New Delhi, in three segments among 40 participants Focus group discussions held online with 25 people in 5 groups (4 groups of women and 1 of men) Data analysis Data collected from these semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using both deductive and inductive coding methods The data from the literature review and KIIs were analysed using thematic analysis Data from surveys using SPSS, along with interviews and group discussions, were analysed inductively with open coding and the Voyant tool, followed by data triangulation Source: Authors; case studies prepared by the partner organisations 1.3.5 Rationale and approach of the synthesis study Building on these methodological considerations, the key method for this study is a synthesis study as part of the case study research. The specific method applied for this synthesis study forms part of the qualitative case study research (Gerring, 2007; Mahoney & Goertz, 2012). The synthesis study aims at contributing to theory-building by identifying patterns across primary studies (Hoon, 2013, p. 526). In the field of feminist research, this synthesis study contributes to a better understanding of local feminist perspectives by providing evidence for their potential to act as transformation levers for greater gender equality. To build theory, the synthesis study seeks to extract, analyse and synthesise the qualitative evidence derived from the primary studies (Hoon, 2013, p. 523). There are three different perspectives on how to synthesise: 1) aggregation (following the research paradigm of positivism), 2) interpretation (following postpositivism) and 3) translation (following social constructivism) (Hoon, 2013, p. 525). By applying the interpretative perspective in this synthesis study, the integrity of the primary studies shall be maintained while building on their insights for conducting the synthesis (Hoon, 2013, p. 526). Hence, contextualisation plays a crucial role and needs to be considered for formulating IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 24 interaction between local and transnational feminisms is further complemented by so-called diaspora feminisms – the phenomenon of feminists living abroad and contributing to discourses in their home contexts (Campt & Thomas, 2008; Hua, 2012). All three studies provide points of reference from global, regional and local discourses by pointing to norms and diversities of cultures as well as impacts from their specific contexts on global discourses on feminism(s). For the Ghanaian study, the diversity of cultures, religions, belief systems and societal organisation is stressed. Questions of gender (in)equalities – particularly the differences between matrilineal and patrilineal societies – are highlighted. The situation in the north of the country – with its majority of patrilineal societal organisations – is more challenging for women’s rights and participation than in other parts of the country with their majority of matrilineal societies. Interestingly, in the Ghanaian context, feminist and gender equality discourses are not strongly linked to decolonial approaches, for instance in other decolonised contexts such as Namibia and Kenya. For the impact on global discourses on feminism, the Ghanaian context overall contributes to the field of African feminism(s). Similarly, also India presents a quite diverse context with different religions and the caste system. Gender issues intersect with these other dimensions of identity and lead to different forms of discrimination and marginalisation. Against this backdrop, movements such as Dalit feminism developed specifically to tell different stories than those told by Hindu, upper-class movements. Also in the Indian context, the study elaborates on matrilineal and patrilineal societies, while the latter represent a majority. The Indian study additionally refers to tribal societies and their quite progressive social norms, which challenge stereotypical understandings of rural and urban areas and their communities. These societies are, however, still often framed as receivers of change – and accordingly as objects, victims and beneficiaries – instead of agents of change. In general, the Indian study indicates that Indian discourses on feminisms show strong linkages to transnational trends, for example in the areas of NGOisation (nongovernmental organisation) and the deterritorialisation of feminisms (Roy, 2016). Moreover, the Indian study criticises that, in the field of women and environment, local movements can get hijacked by global discourses, for example through the feminisation of nature. The cultural dimension of nature is stressed and nature is presented as a woman by giving nature and land a female body. Indian discourses impact global debates on feminism(s), most prominently through sex workers’ movements. Furthermore, India has influenced other contexts – questions of child marriage in Bangladesh and abortion in Ireland – by being an example of how to keep religion out of law-making and challenging modernity in the nation-state. In the Ukrainian context, points of reference from global, regional and local discourses can be found in the area of post-socialist societies and their specific type of gender equality. This type can be described as supporting gender equality on a superficial level by referring to the socialist organisation of society, which also included women as active in the workforce, while gender inequalities continued to exist under propaganda (Strelnyk, Yuzva, & Zlobina, 2025). The study still identifies gendered norms and rules, with a particularly challenging situation being in the lands occupied under illegal Russian authoritarian rule. Other points of reference for the Ukrainian context are conflict-affected societies and militant feminism. In terms of the impacts of the Ukrainian case on global discourses on feminism(s), we can identify the question of societal changes in times of war and how Ukrainian societies are not confirming trends of stronger patriarchal norms. For the criterion of donor-driven and external influence/incentives, the three cases show similar but also different insights. For the Ghanaian case, the influence of evangelical groups on the public discourse needs to be mentioned, as it culminated in the “Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values” bill. It was brought into parliament as a private bill by a few parliamentarians in 2021 and was anonymously passed by the parliament in 2024. Although the president is not signing the bill, the discourse has turned negative in terms of the rights of the LGBTQIA* community. The discourse has a direct influence on the field of development IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 25 cooperation and its aim to do-no-harm. With societal discourse problematising queer rights, external actors need to proceed with particular care when implementing projects geared towards more gender equality. In the Ukrainian case, gender equality is seen as a part of European integration. All three contexts point to NGOisation as an issue for women’ rights and organisations that are active in this field. Since the budget is tied to projects that often favour behavioural and individual approaches over structural ones, feminist agendas can become instrumentalised by external donors and their agendas. The Indian case further indicates rather liberal feminist approaches pushed by external actors that cannot achieve changes on the structural level. The notions of glocality and hyperlocality are also referred to in the case studies prepared by the partner organisations. The study conducted by the Indian partners, in particular, provides some relevant aspects in that regard, because they have reached out to actors and organisations at the grassroots level for their approach, and applied grassroots’ perspectives to analyse local feminist perspectives. The idea of glocal connections is quite strongly expressed in their thematic focus on women and health, as well as women and climate change. Furthermore, they contribute to an understanding of hyperlocality in the Indian context and beyond by reflecting on who is considered local by whom. The study highlights the dynamics of pointing to the local as always being one level down, and that the locals are always the others from the position of the speaker. 2.1.4 Challenges and opportunities for gender-transformative change This cluster bundles the ideas formulated in and strategies explained by the case studies prepared by the partner organisations on Ghana, Ukraine and India that could create more gender-equal societies. One strategy that we can find in all three studies focuses on building and contributing to transnational feminist movements. Particularly for the Ghanaian and Indian contexts, the Beijing Declaration, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, was pivotal for women’s rights. Equity is framed as a means to achieve gender equality, which stresses the interrelationship between human rights and women’s rights. Collectivisation and the building of alliances were mentioned as strong tools to formulate common visions for the future. Strategies that have worked need to be documented and shared. To show the interrelations or intersections of issues concerning gender inequalities and inequities, the studies recommend new narratives that go beyond established discourses. The Ghanaian case identifies certain civil society organisations and NGOs as the main drivers of change. As levers, the study lists the experiences of advocates and networks as well as the use of media. Strategies that actors have used or could use are pushing for new bills or changing existing drafts, investing in collaboration within and beyond Ghana in the sense of coalitionbuilding, committing to lobby and advocacy work, as well as making bills and laws public that are not working towards gender equality. Furthermore, the study suggests a mapping of critical stakeholders for engagement. The study has also pointed to hindrances in achieving gender equality in the Ghanaian context, with issues concerning the weak political implementation of laws, the unclear application and scope of laws, overall policy designs, limited resource allocation, support systems and funding. In addition, the study sees changes of governments and ministerial rotations as challenging for a sustainable commitment to work towards gender equality. Overall, the study frames a lack of political will for gender equality and the male-dominated legislative system as strong barriers. The study identifies evangelical groups as spoilers that try to lobby for traditional roles for men and women as well as for heteronormativity.11 For the Indian case, the study differentiates between output and outcome level while following a theory of change. It 11 Heteronormativity can be understood as a rigid structure that tries to control “how men and women should behave, how their bodies should be represented and how their interpersonal relations can be composed” (Saraiva, Santos, & Pereira, 2020, p. 117). It features a binary understanding of gender. IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 26 analyses most initiatives as focusing more on outputs than outcomes. As tools, the study presents capacity-building, communication, advocacy and the provision/acquisition of resources. Key actors for achieving gender equality are government bodies, local community leaders, volunteers and peers. The study identifies the collective level as being pivotal to share knowledge, build coalitions, mobilise within communities and contribute to grassroots networks. The Indian study calls for a multi-dimensional empowerment through emotional, educational and economic empowerment to achieve gender equality. The Indian case sees time poverty as a spoiler working against people who are trying to achieve gender equality. The Ukrainian study identifies the bureaucracy as a great hindrance to introducing feminist perspectives and actions. Overall, politics and the military are seen as the most problematic areas for feminism, with the war affecting the possibilities for feminism to act. The study further points to the limited societal space to criticise the military due to their role in defending the country against the Russians and their war of aggression. Additionally, the studies also determine certain windows of opportunity and entry points for gender-transformative change. The Ghanaian study names the Affirmative Action Act12 as a relevant law-making process for gender equality in Ghana. It took more than 12 years to get it passed, but in 2024, the parliament finally decided in favour of it. The Indian study sees the HIV movement, sex workers’ movement and the Dalit women’s movement as all having provided windows of opportunity for the rights of LGBTQIA* communities, the health of HIV-affected people and the rights of Dalit women, respectively. Furthermore, the Beijing Declaration with its Platform for Action are both identified by the Indian study as having built momentum for gender equality and women’s rights. For one of the foci for the study on climate action, the Indian case also frames the environmental justice movement as a potential entry point for transformations towards gender equality. Moreover, the Indian case asserts that talking about the role of women instead of their rights can build an entry point for discussions with certain actors, and can then lead to transformative change on a structural level later on. The Ukrainian study presents the Maidan protests as having been a window of opportunity. Women were quite active as volunteers while raising feminist issues as part of the collection of ideas about European integration. In addition, the Ukrainian study names the war situation and recovery context as potential entry points for transformation. The study stresses the relevance of feminist perspectives in the process of post-war development and recovery, with a focus on reproductive and care work against the backdrop of demographic challenges. Furthermore, the study analyses the current situation as being a strong catalyst for positive change for the rights of members in the LGBTQIA* communities. Finally, the study also points to Ukrainian women living abroad who experience different types of relationships and gender roles through a perspective of diaspora feminisms, which might have an impact on Ukrainian societies as well. All three studies identify the limitations of gender-transformative change in their respective contexts. In the Ghanaian context, the case of the “Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values” bill is quite informative, as it is very much in tension with a feminist approach. However, not only the democratically elected parliament, but also the majority of Ghanaians are in favour of it. The bill is framed as protecting children and the youth. It forms part of the narrative of a “global fight” against LGBTQIA* rights pushed forward by religious leaders all over the world. Although it is not being implemented since the president is not signing it, the discourse in Ghana and on Ghana has been influenced. For the Indian case, the question of land rights speaks to the criterion concerning the limitations of gender-transformative change. Even though land rights can be held by women, they are not claiming them and land still often goes to the brothers. A similar limitation can be found in the area of the representation of women on the local level. 12 “The Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act 2024 approved minimum 30% female representation in major sectors, gender-responsive budgeting, protections against gender-based discrimination, support for gender equality in political parties, and tax incentives for private entities promoting female employment” (East African Center for Law and Justice, 2024). IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 27 Though there are reserved seats for female representatives, women are often only the symbolic figurehead, whereas men in the background (e.g. their husbands or fathers) are taking the decisions. The Ukrainian study points to the limited ecological dimension in Ukrainian feminist movements. Against the background of the war situation, the study further underlines that infrastructural challenges have a great impact on women and other marginalised genders, and that these cannot be addressed sufficiently due to a lack of resources. 2.1.5 Future of gender-transformative policies On the level of policy recommendations, the case studies prepared by the partner organisations formulate the need to base feminist development and foreign agendas more on human rights and less on economic and geopolitical questions. By that, the studies address the phenomenon of anti-gender backlashes in different contexts that are often part of broader attempts to limit the space and democratic rights of marginalised genders and/or people(s). All three studies express the need for more research on feminist movements and feminist contributions to societal change, given the limited knowledge and studies in three thematic and regional foci chosen by the partners for their studies, namely women, climate and health (in India), feminist perspectives in times of defence and recovery (in Ukraine) and gender-transformative policies (in Ghana). More specifically, the Ghanaian study stresses the need for funding for advocacy, mobilising work and support of networks that is not tied to projects and their objectives. Furthermore, the study identifies intergenerational dialogues and male allies as being key for achieving more gender equality. The Indian study recommends the collection of disaggregated data in the area of gender statistics following an intersectional approach, with a particular focus on the dimensions of religion, caste and gender. For understanding the health–climate nexus from a gendered perspective, they suggest changing the way data are collected. This would lead to knowledge bases about feminisms that are local. To achieve this objective, local organisations need to be strengthened to collect the data accordingly. Also, the Ukrainian study formulates clear recommendations for investments in infrastructure and the need for those investments to address gender equality. All three studies have gathered data and evidence on issues that cover wide geographical scopes and time periods which have not been collected or analysed in that way before. The teams have conducted fundamental research in the social sciences that could be further developed and picked up in future studies on (local) feminisms. The studies on Ghana and India do not share very optimistic outlooks for the future of gender equality. In Ghana, actors are worried about the over-politicisation of gender issues, particularly in view of elections. In India, the national–religious agenda of the current government sets a difficult framework for more gender equality initiatives. In the Ukrainian case, the study suggests further investigating how to get from feminist perspectives to actions, particularly against the backdrop of ongoing defence, post-war recovery and reconciliation processes. The studies have further contributed to a better understanding of how gender norms can(not) change and how development cooperation can support these processes towards more gender equality. With that, the studies and their feminist ideal also refer to debates in (the study) of development cooperation on questions of fairness, equity, partner orientation as well as (de)coloniality (e.g. Bhambra, 2024; Ziai, 2015). IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 28 2.2 Further conceptual discussions Synthesising the contributions made by the partner organisations through the lens of the developed matrix enables us to further discuss conceptual aspects deduced from the case studies prepared by the partner organisations while reflecting on our guiding concepts and frameworks. To better visualise these reflections against the background of the case studies prepared by the partner organisations, we prepared a figure (Figure 2) that illustrates the different dimensions which have been analysed by the case studies prepared by the partner organisations. We deliberately did not conceptualised the terms used in – and referred to by – the case studies prepared by the partner organisations (see our methodological considerations of this synthesis study). We have asked the partners to apply the concepts to the questions and issues they identify as relevant. With the synthesis, we were able to bring these approaches together and seek to draw broader conclusions in this section. Figure 2: Local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality Source: Authors Description of Figure 2: Feminist groups and individuals face significant challenges in achieving gender-transformative change due to diverse barriers such as patriarchy, gender norms, systemic-structural conditions, and political and legal frameworks. Despite these barriers, local feminist perspectives act as transformation levers towards greater gender equality. They have the potential to address prevailing norms and structures, enhance access to resources and improve the political participation of women, girls and LGBTQIA* communities. Intersectionality is an element that not only makes different intersecting forms of oppression or privilege visible, but also informs strategies and interventions to transform them. “Local feminist perspectives” – as one of the central terms operationalised by the case studies prepared by the partner organisations and referred to in this synthesis study – entails different IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 29 conceptualisations while relating to various scholarly debates. To approach an understanding of “local”, scholarship from geography is a relevant point of reference, given the importance of scale in this discipline. Local and global are often seen as “the two extremes of our scaled lives” (Herod, 2009, p. 217). Other scales between or linking these extremes can be, among others, national, regional or transnational. Particularly in human geography, politics of scale have been introduced relating to “processes of globalization, localization, (re)regionalization, [and] the hollowing-out of the nation-state” (Herod, 2009, p. 218). In addition, concepts such as “glocal” or “glocalisation” and “hyperlocal” or “hyperlocalisation” have been introduced to reflect on the interlinkages between a local and a global level, and on contestations of what and who counts as local in different contexts. These discussions are also picked up in the case studies prepared by the partner organisations and are further developed. Specifically against the background of the climate and environmental crises – referred to most strongly in the Indian case study – the idea of glocal problems and glocal action has been discussed (e.g. Gupta, van der Leeuw, & de Moel, 2007), while Robertson (2020) assesses a “glocal turn” of globalisation analyses. The notion of hyperlocal is mostly dealt with by scholarship in the field of media and communication referring to the delivery of hyperlocal content for small towns and villages (e.g. Radcliffe, 2012). Also, the case studies prepared by the partner organisations raise questions about who is considered local in which situation, and that one could always go “more” local, in that sense, hyperlocal. The designation of oneself or others as local reflects the positionality of different speakers or viewers, based on different processes of inclusion and exclusion. Depending on where a person or community situates themselves, it stresses different dimensions of their identities. The context very much determines whose perspective is considered local. We sought to identify the common patterns and differences among various local feminist perspectives while also facilitating a conversation with feminist scholarship on foreign and development policies following feminist agendas. We frame the insights presented by the three case studies from Ghana, India and Ukraine as local and endemic. We were aware of the connotation that this term carries with it in terms of power asymmetries. We wanted to contest these meanings while relating to feminist research, particularly highlighting the relevance of local knowledge(s) and experiences for broader knowledge production on feminisms (see Nylund et al., 2023). By that, we sought to address critiques of “methodological nationalism”. Roy (2016), for instance, criticises that viewing the local(s) within national boundaries leads to limitations and suggests instead multi-scalar readings. These multi-scalar readings allow for moving beyond linear assumptions to a flow from global to local sites (Roy, 2016). Against the background of the case studies prepared by the partner organisations and this synthesis study, we intended to contribute to a better understanding of the transnationality, multi-directionality and intersecting scales of feminisms. What feminism is or who or what claims to be feminist refers to a “multiplicity and cross-border pollination of feminist movements” (McCann, Kim, & Ergun, 2021, p. 7), which was also picked up by the case studies prepared by the partner organisations. Many of these described processes take place simultaneously with debates intersecting, influencing and clashing with each other (McCann et al., 2021). Local and transnational influences contributed to these Western narratives on feminisms. The often referred to “four waves of feminism” (Mohajan, 2022) also help to further discuss the findings of this synthesis study. There are different understandings about when specific waves started and ended, but the first wave of feminism is dated roughly from mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, with voting and equal rights for women being the main objectives.13 The second wave of feminism started in the 1960s and ended in the 1990s. It focused on reproductive rights, the right to education as well as work and equal pay. In the third wave, from the 1990s to the 2000s, white-middle-class feminism and universal understandings of femininity were challenged by bringing in perspectives from working 13 The first wave was mostly informed by activisms in Europe, North America, Egypt, Iran and India (Malinowska, 2020, p. 2). IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 30 class women, women of colour and non-feminine women’s concerns. During the third wave, the famous Fourth World Conference on Women took place in Beijing in 1995.14 It brought in intersectional understandings of gender inequalities. The fourth wave that started in the 2010s and still endures stresses more intersectional approaches as well as new circumstances and challenges for gender equality in the digital space (e.g. #metoo).15 These waves also played a role in the case studies prepared by the partner organisations by contextualising local feminist perspectives across different time periods and discursive circumstances. This highlights the dynamic relationship between global and local feminisms, in which global waves influenced local movements, and local perspectives, in turn, reshaped global feminist discourse through a multidirectional flow of norms. Interlinked with the different waves of feminism, there are various schools of feminist thought approaching feminism and feminist struggles. These schools consisted of liberal feminists, Marxist feminists, post-modernist feminists and post-colonial feminists (Ackerly & True, 2020, pp. 2-3). Over the years and throughout the different waves of feminism, more schools of thought emerged with anti-colonial feminists, Black feminists, decolonial feminists, disability feminists, ecofeminists, psychoanalytical feminists, queer feminists and radical feminists (Ackerly & True, 2020, pp. 3-4). With the term “perspective” complementing the concept of local feminist perspectives, we wanted to stress that feminisms all over the world build a mosaic of diverse perspectives. With this study, we are only able to provide certain insights into a few of these perspectives through the studies prepared by the partner organisations on contexts in Ghana, Ukraine and India as well as through the contextualising work of this synthesis study. Moreover, the term “perspective” also highlights the situatedness of what we describe and analyse as well as the meaning we ascribe to it as a local feminist perspective in terms of socio-historical, socio-cultural and geographical contexts in addition to philosophical and ideological frameworks (Rendell, 2020; Simandan, 2019). Along spatial and temporal lines, different social actors negotiate their meanings, whereas these actors stand in social and power relations to each other. The case studies prepared by the partner organisations also highlight that meanings are hence always dependent on these different characteristics and are constantly (socially) constructed and contested. In the area of the study of norms, the case studies prepared by the partner organisations added three concrete analyses of how norms and norm change work. Following Marcus and Somji (2024, p. 6), gender norms are “social norms that define acceptable behaviour, roles, entitlements, and gender expression for people” through a gendered perspective.16 Social norms, in turn, are “collectively shared beliefs about what others typically do and what others approve of, perceive as appropriate, or expect them to do” (Marcus & Somji, 2024, p. 6). Furthermore, norms “are embedded in social, political and economic institutions because they are so taken-forgranted” and as such they “uphold patriarchy, a system of gendered power relations” (Marcus 14 The different world conferences on women took place in 1975 in Mexico City, 1980 in Copenhagen, 1985 in Nairobi and 1995 in Beijing. The Beijing Conference was quite influential for women’s rights all over the world and introduced different review and appraisal mechanisms with the Beijing Platform for Action. Ever since the Beijing Conference of 1995, every five years a review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action takes place: 2000 “A five-year review and appraisal”, in 2005 “A 10 year and appraisal”, in 2010 the 15-year review, in 2015 the 20-year review and appraisal, and 2020 the 25-year review and appraisal. 15 The #metoo movement started in 2017 with several women accusing the producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment. The hashtag was originally introduced in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke, who used it to raise awareness about the abuse of women of colour. 16 According to the International Labour Organization, gender norms have an influence on all areas of life but are particularly influential on questions of paid and unpaid work (International Labour Organization, 2018). The research project “Child Penalty Atlas”, for instance, documents the effect of parenthood on gender inequality and shows that women spend more time on unpaid work than men, which has consequences on employment rates (Hub for Equal Representation in the Economy, 2024). IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 31 & Somji, 2024, p. 15).17 As such, gender norms are of a long-term nature and present a certain stickiness informing their hindering character with a view towards gender-transformative change. Moreover, norms and practices are interlinked, as norms are getting reproduced and maintained through practices that “reflect and respond to perceived social expectations” (Marcus & Somji, 2024, p. 15). In this way, norms are not only reproduced but embodied – responding to expectations is rewarded while deviating from them is sanctioned. In view of this performativity, Butler (2024, p. 3) describes “gender” as socio-cultural forms of becoming while framing gender as “co-constructed” (Butler, 2024, p. 33) due to intertwining material and social contributions “in the production of the gendered body” (Butler, 2024, p. 33). The studies present examples of local feminist perspectives while contributing to and forming part of a more multidirectional and transnational perspective of how different scales influence each other and intersect, which also informs our approach to norms for this study. Following Zwingel (2012) and Roy (2016), we seek to challenge an understanding of a unidirectional flow of norms and stress a multidirectionality as well as multi-scalarity. At all scales – being inter alia, local, global and transnational – actors and movements are involved in norm diffusion, influence each other and intersect (León-Himmelstine et al., 2022), which can also be deduced from the partners’ contributions. Intersectionality fulfilled a two-fold function in the case studies prepared by the partner organisations and synthesised their different contributions to the field; it served as a conceptual and analytical tool to make different intersecting forms of marginalisation or privilege visible. Different elements of an identity – being for instance, race, class, gender, sex, ethnicity, citizenship(s), (dis)ability and age – do not stand alone but intersect with each other and describe (intersected) social inequalities (Cho, Crenshaw, & McCall, 2013; Collins, 2015, pp. 2 and 8; Crenshaw, 1991; Hooks, 1981). Particularly in the Indian case study, an intersectional analysis helps in better understanding “intersections of global systems of domination: racism/colonialism, capitalism and patriarchy; and their by-products: classism, homoand transphobia, cisand heterosexism, and various forms of racism” (Equinox (Initiative for Racial Justice), 2021, p. 6). A thorough analysis of the multifaceted and interrelated forms of privileges and oppression faced by individuals and groups in a society is imperative for understanding the systemic-structural conditions as well as the political and legal frameworks that act as barriers to gendertransformative change. Furthermore, the concept of intersectionality is crucial for identifying effective strategies and interventions that are not broadly generalised, but instead based on the local perspective and experiences, with the aim of dismantling these complex and interwoven systems. Gender-transformative change always entails a drastic change from a status quo to a (radical) new status. All three case studies prepared by the partner organisations have analysed the circumstances in their respective contexts and explored entry points for transformative levers towards more gender equality. When looking to the field of transformation studies, we see a strong orientation towards interdisciplinarity and more recent contributions in the field of sustainability studies (Patterson et al., 2017; Pereira et al., 2015; Schneidewind, 2018) that deal with societal, ecological and economic transformations. Gender-transformative change is one element of these sustainability transformations, as they link to societal, ecological and economic issues, respectively. Against this background, transformative approaches and feminist approaches share the understanding and relevance of a process of changing, transforming the status quo towards more social and gender equality. Following MacArthur et al. (2022), gendertransformative change in more detail “aim[s] to reshape gender dynamics by redistributing resources, expectations and responsibilities between women, men, and non-binary gender identities, often focusing on norms, power, and collective action” (MacArthur et al., 2022). The 17 Patriarchy being “a structure of power relations – to explain a system of gendered oppression that does not benefit all men, but still favours the male grip on political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property and assets” (Harper, Marcus, George, & Samman, 2020, p. 10). IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 32 case studies prepared by the partner organisations frame gender equality as the first necessary step towards gender equity. With this research, we wanted to contribute to a gendered understanding of sustainability transformations by introducing local feminist perspectives as transformations levers towards greater gender equality. Hence, local feminist perspectives were firstly identified, and then secondly, they were analysed through a gender-transformative lens. The concept of “levers” additionally entailed the notion of a leveraging effect of a certain measure, initiative or perspective that could influence other actors, fields or issue areas. A synthesis of the contributions made by the partner organisations – by grouping the insights into clusters through a clustered matrix – provided a conceptual understanding of these results. This process enabled us to identify and discuss key conceptual themes emerging from the studies, while simultaneously allowing for reflection on our guiding concepts and frameworks. This section establishes a foundation for the contextualisation of local perspectives within global discourses on activism, research and policy-making in the realms of feminism and development. Through this synthesis, we aimed to bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and their practical implementation by facilitating a connection between local feminist perspectives and global feminist and development policies. In the concluding section, we draw broader conclusions, propose actionable policy recommendations and outline a way forward that can contribute to a more nuanced approach to feminist development and foreign policies that are grounded in local realities while remaining cognisant of global trends. 3 Conclusions With this synthesis study, we sought to identify the common patterns and differences among various local feminist perspectives, while also facilitating a conversation with feminist scholarship on foreign and development policies following feminist agendas. All three case studies prepared by the partner organisations have expanded the current state of the art by contributing to the scholarship on the respective local/national contexts as well as on the specific thematic foci of local feminisms. The three case studies prepared by the partner organisations rely for that on primary data that has not been collected or analysed in this way before. In this last section, we want to conclude the synthesis study by discussing its main findings against the background of discourses in feminist activism, feminist research and development cooperation. With that, we address the research questions – presented in the case studies prepared by the partner organisations and picked up by this synthesis study – about local feminist perspectives as transformation levers for greater gender equality. Furthermore, we want to formulate policy recommendations for future feminist development and foreign policy approaches. Finally, we provide outlooks on international processes until 2030 and beyond to show how initiatives at different levels can further contribute towards more gender equality. The synthesis study, while referring to the case studies prepared by the partner organisations on local feminist perspectives, identified common patterns in existing socio-cultural norms and practices that prevent the implementation of gender-transformative policies. In addition, the synthesis study discussed the diversity of local feminist perspectives in the respective local/national context of the partners. These entailed alternative approaches to development processes that can target prevailing norms and practices. The study moreover reflected on how the different local feminist perspectives can be used as transformation levers towards greater gender equality in the different contexts and beyond. The hindrance faced by local feminist perspectives in influencing policy, decision-making and societal/gender norms due to limited possibilities and restricted opportunities emerges as a consistent theme across all three case studies prepared by the partner organisations and this synthesis study. The following policy recommendations deduced from the study of local feminist perspectives are proposed as transformative levers towards more gender equality: IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 33 • Investing in gender-responsive infrastructure: The Ukrainian study formulates clear recommendations on the investment in infrastructure (childcare facilities, nursing care homes, women’s shelters and gender-based violence support centres) that explicitly address gender equality by considering the needs of women and other marginalised genders, thereby promoting equitable access to resources and opportunities. • Advancing research and data collection: The Indian study also recommends the collection and accessibility of disaggregated data on gender statistics through an intersectional approach, with a particular focus on the dimensions of religion, caste, and gender. This data is crucial for understanding the nuanced experiences of different groups in order to inform targeted interventions and increase awareness about gender inequalities. Intersectional approaches need data on intersecting forms of discrimination. • Promoting nuanced intersectional understandings of feminism(s): The studies emphasise intersectionality and inclusivity and advocate for a more nuanced understanding of feminism(s) for tailored feminist approaches. This includes recognising the role of digital activism and the need for systemic changes to address gender-based violence and enhance women’s political representation. It is also required to explore the intersections of anti-democratic movements and anti-gender campaigns to better understand their mutual reinforcement, as this understanding is critical for designing effective initiatives to promote gender equality. • Mapping feminist movements and contributions: All three studies express the need for more research on feminist movements and feminist contributions to societal change, given the limited knowledge in three thematic and regional foci chosen by the partners for their study, namely women and health, women and climate action (in India), feminist perspectives in times of defence and recovery (in Ukraine) and gender-transformative policies (in Ghana). • Facilitating advocacy for networks via cooperation: The Ghanaian study stresses the need to provide flexible funding to facilitate advocacy, mobilisation and networks that is not tied to projects’ specific objectives. The funding should facilitate the development of transnational networks and solidarity aimed at promoting gender equality and equity. The study underscores the importance of addressing cultural, structural and systemic barriers to women’s rights and representation. • Applying context-sensitive approaches to feminist agendas: A convincing strategy for implementing feminist policies, in both external and domestic affairs, is to adopt context sensitive approaches that assess whether the country is more open to feminist agendas or dialogues on – and cooperation for – human rights or political participation for all genders. Overall, feminist development and foreign agendas offer to base approaches more on human rights and less on economic and geopolitical concerns. With a view towards discourses in feminist activism, feminist research and development cooperation (e.g. compiled by Chaturvedi et al., 2020; León-Himmelstine et al., 2022), this study has contributed by analysing the role of norms and feminist movements to norm changes. Furthermore, the call for more intersectional approaches formulated by the case studies prepared by the partner organisations and picked up by this synthesis study is very vocal in discourses pushed forward by feminist activists and women’s rights movements globally (Bonu Rosenkranz, 2024). Additionally, the line of argument around barriers and hindrances for women’s and feminist groups and individuals working towards more gender equality and ultimately equity thematised by feminist activists is a common pattern in all three case studies prepared by the partner organisations and this synthesis study. 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Women’s rights activism has a long history in Ghana spanning over a century. While feminists’ advocacy has made great gains, Ghana – like many other countries – is not likely to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, which is gender equality, by 2030. Gender inequality persists due to the coexistence of gender-inequitable norms and the lax enforcement of the existing laws that protect women. Social norms and behaviours continue to impact opportunities and human potential, affecting health, education and productivity. There is little understanding of how local Ghanaian feminists have influenced past and recent transformative gender policies in Ghana. The goal of this study is to understand feminism in Ghana and how feminists’ experiences could be harnessed to achieve more gendertransformative change. The study is part of the research project “Local Feminist Perspectives as Transformation Levers for Greater Gender Equality”. In partnership with IDOS, the German Institute of Development and Sustainability, the project explores the potential of local feminist perspectives to act as levers for transformative change for greater gender equality in Ghana, India and Ukraine. The aim of the study in Ghana is to explore and analyse contemporary local feminist perspectives (organising) in Ghana to demonstrate how they can be used as levers for transformative change for greater equality and sustainable development. The research questions that guided the study are: i. How do existing socio-cultural norms and practices and the prevailing systemic/structural conditions prevent sustainable, gender-transformative policies? ii. How have local feminist perspectives influenced past and recent gender-transformative policies in Ghana? iii. How can local perspectives be used as transformative levers for sustainable development? iv. Which alternative approaches to development processes can local feminist perspectives offer to target prevailing norms and practices? The study was fully qualitative and cross-sectional involving 35 feminists and women’s rights advocates between the ages of 37 and 80+ years, with the majority (n=25) having over 20 years of experience and relevant postgraduate degrees. The findings of the study very much aligned with the theoretical framework selected for the study, the gender at work framework, which considers gender inequity as a phenomenon that traverses from formal to informal spaces, as well as individual to systemic/structural domains. Our results reveal a myriad of informal and exclusionary customary practices that infringe on the fundamental human rights of Ghanaian women. These practices are rooted in the patriarchal structures that normalise male dominance and control over women, shaping societal attitudes and behaviours toward women’s rights and autonomy. These exclusionary customary practices include the practice of bride price, widowhood rites, child marriage, female genital mutilation, IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 45 and witch-hunting. Apart from the informal laws that discriminate against women, there are also gender inequalities that manifest in formal spaces. These forms of inequality are systemic and structural in nature. Instances of these are the lack of political will and delays in legislative instruments; the high turnover of responsible leaders; a lack of resources and state infrastructure to support women at the workplace; sexual harassment; labour discrimination due to women’s reproductive roles; the gender wage gap; and gender-blind policies and laws. Other discriminatory practices that are apparent at the level of individual practices are those connected to inadequate access to resources and conscientisation. Further, the study revealed that feminists in Ghana utilise several strategies to improve gender equality. These include advocacy and lobbying; collaboration and coalition-building; enlisting non-feminist allies; generation of research and evidence; consultative meetings and dialogues; support for the drafting and review of instruments; monitoring the implementation of existing laws, and the subsequent review of passed laws. Some of the landmark achievements resulting from feminists’ work include the passage of the Domestic Violence Act (DV Act), the Land Act, and the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Act. Our results showed that feminists and women’s rights advocates were in general satisfied with the effectiveness of their outlined strategies and that they hoped to maintain them in the future. Feminists have encountered several challenges including declining funding, lack of support from political actors, and backlash. To sustain the work of feminists they call for the institutionalisation of intergenerational dialogues on gender and women’s issues, along with the intensification of the recruitment of non-feminist allies. They believe that these strategies would ensure both the continuity and effectiveness of the movement in driving change. The following policy recommendations are made based on the insights of this study: i. A key challenge reported by participants was the waning funding for feminists/CSO (civil society organisation) activities. Considering that the advocacy activities of feminists such as lobbying, capacity-building, meetings and sensitisation measures require logistics, it is important that the state commits funds to their activities in a sustainable way. The government should set up a research fund where a percentage of the country’s GDP will be deposited: Feminists could apply for available funding to conduct research into women’s inequality issues. Findings from these studies could in turn inform policy on women’s inequality issues. ii. Advocacy by feminists in Ghana for local gender-transformative policies and laws is based on the realisation of international human rights provisions. The evidence shows that success requires persistence and the constant rallying of feminists around specific bills and policies over many years. Hence, development partners should support the core funding for women’s rights organisations as well as creating a funding cycle to support women’s rights organising and activities surrounding specific bills or policies. In this way, energy and advocacy for specific bills/policies will be sustained. iii. A major bottleneck to the timely processing of gender-related policies is the high ministerial rotations in relevant ministries. It is therefore important to institute a permanent policy desk at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. This would ensure stability and continuity in the development of policies during changes in ministers and governments. iv. Ignorance and a lack of awareness and capabilities on the part of individuals regarding gender inequity is widespread in Ghana leading to the perpetration of gender inequities. It is recommended that “gender”, as a cross-cutting phenomenon, be introduced into educational curricula at various levels of education. The feminists believe that early and timely education on gender will increase gender consciousness and equity among the younger generation to break the cycles of gender-inequitable attitudes and beliefs passed on through customs and cultures. IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 46 Feminists in Ghana have made great strides in fighting for the cause of women. They have been successful in pushing for the passage of formal laws and policies that protect the rights of women. However, considering the persistence of patriarchal norms in Ghana, the laws and policies are not enough to bring about gender-transformative change in everyday lives. A change in gender attitudes requires a consistent and resilient effort, especially in the areas of awareness creation and empowerment. Outcomes will include an improvement in individual knowledge and awareness of their constitutional rights and privileges, what constitutes abuse, and access to legal and support services. Meanwhile, there is a lack of political will on the side of duty bearers to adopt gender-transformative policies. This calls for a non-state “conscience” on gender to drive change by closing the gap between formal laws and policies and the lived experiences of women by increasing individual and grassroot demand for gender equality, while measures are taken to deal with the systemic factors. The lack of core funding for feminist and women’s rights organisations over the decades, therefore, will attenuate this otherwise great synergistic impact of driving change through the push for formal laws and policies alongside sensitisation measures and support. Support from government and key development partners for activities in support of feminism in Ghana will be crucial in bringing about the transformative change. IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 47 Executive summary from the Indian case study At a time when global frameworks like the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (United Nations, 1995) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are calling for a renewed commitment to gender equality, India stands at a crossroads. The country’s feminist discourse has been shaped by both historical milestones, such as the Towards Equality Report (1974) which exposed entrenched gender disparities, and the ongoing struggles of grassroots women’s movements confronting caste, class and religious oppressions. However, despite progress in education, political representation and public health, India is ranked 129th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 (World Economic Forum, 2024), reflecting persistent disparities in economic participation, agency and health outcomes. Drawing on insights from critical feminist theory and diverse women’s and social movements, this project explores the transformative potential of local feminist perspectives in addressing systemic gender inequalities in India. The study selected two themes: women’s health and climate action (given their interconnectedness and impact on multiple dimensions of human development) to understand how community-based organisations (CBOs) working on women’s issues have challenged patriarchal norms and built agency and decision-making capacities for their communities, particularly women. The study also analyses various strategies adopted by these organisations informed by the lived realities of women, to address the intersectionality between oppressions that shape women’s experiences in both health and climate action. Using a qualitative, multi-method approach, this study integrates primary and secondary data sources to ensure depth and comprehensiveness. A thorough literature review informed the research framework, analysing global and national policy documents, gender-related interventions and intersectional analyses. Primary data collection encompassed 31 key informant interviews (KIIs), comprising 12 discussions with experts in gender, health and climate action and 19 interviews with representatives of grassroots organisations. Additionally, a stakeholder dialogue with 40 participants was organised to gain insights into the discourse of feminisms in India and about their contribution towards challenging systemic inequalities. The event included NGOs, CBOs, feminist collectives and academia who provided insights into localised knowledge creation on gender, the formation of grassroots women’s leadership and the development of innovative strategies to address the intersectionality between oppressions women face. Key findings Local feminist praxis: The feminist landscape in India is characterised by its diversity, shaped by a multiplicity of feminisms that reflect the lived realities of a heterogeneous society. Indian feminisms are deeply rooted in local contexts, addressing the intersections of caste, class, sexuality, religion, disability and environment. The distinct strands of feminisms (such as Dalit feminism, queer feminism, eco-feminism, sex worker’s movement and others) collectively form a pluralistic and adaptive framework that address the country’s sociocultural and political complexities. Women’s movements in India have played a transformative role in challenging patriarchal structures (at the level of household, community and state) and amplifying marginalised voices. Organisations like Khabar Lahariya (News Wave), a women-led rural media collective, challenge traditional media paradigms by enabling rural women to narrate their own stories and build agency. By reclaiming narratives, using digital technology and fostering community-driven solutions, such organisations enrich feminist advocacy frameworks with locally rooted insights. The formation of women’s groups, women’s networks and alliances with other social movements (including Dalit, queer and sex workers) have enriched and expanded local feminist perspectives in the country. The institutionalisation of feminism in India’s higher education has created a discursive space for engaging with various forms of inequalities, especially gender. IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 48 Women and health inequalities: The intersection of caste, class, sexuality and disability significantly amplifies health inequities for women in India, creating systemic barriers that extend beyond access to healthcare services. Despite policy advancements, deeply ingrained gender norms, societal biases and structural inequalities continue to constrain women’s decision-making power and right to their body, particularly in areas like reproductive, sexual, mental and menstrual health. These compounded challenges demand an intersectional approach to health equity. In addition, women are still considered as a homogeneous entity in health policy and programmes. This narrow approach to women’s health dismisses the heterogeneous identity of women (shaped by class, caste, religion and other forms of social markers). There is an urgent need to adopt a multi-dimensional approach while designing policies and programmes for women’s health that address systemic discrimination and social norms alongside service delivery. Organisations like MASUM (Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal) exemplify participatory health education models, conducting menstrual hygiene workshops that empower women to advocate for their own health needs. CBOs, such as the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) (a sex workers’ collective), address not just health but situate health within societal dynamics influencing health-seeking behaviour and access to healthcare. Government interventions in the form of self-help groups (SHGs) and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have also emerged as good models to combat health inequities, bridging gaps in rural healthcare delivery and improving immunisation coverage, maternal care and access to health information. While India’s health policies, such as the National Health Mission, have made strides in service delivery, they often adopt a narrow technocratic focus that prioritises measurable outcomes through behavioural interventions over structural and cultural dimensions of health equity. To achieve transformative health outcomes, policy frameworks must embed gender-sensitive and intersectional approaches that recognise health as a collective and social concern rather than an individual issue. Additionally, greater collaborations between CBOs working on gender and governmental initiatives are essential for catalysing social change. Women and climate action: Climate crises disproportionately impact women, particularly those in rural and economically marginalised communities. Women’s roles as primary caregivers and contributors to agriculture amplify their exposure to climate-related risks. As key providers of water, fuel and food for their households, women face increased burdens due to resource depletion caused by droughts, erratic rainfall and land degradation. Traditional gender norms further relegate women to unpaid or low-wage labour, limiting their access to adaptive technologies, resources and decision-making opportunities. Despite their heightened vulnerability to climate hazards, women remain underrepresented in climate policies and governance structures, highlighting the critical need for inclusive, gender-sensitive approaches that centre women’s experiences and leadership. Community initiatives demonstrate the transformative potential of women-led climate action, fostering resilience and driving sustainable development. For example, solar technician training programmes empower rural women to assemble and install solar energy systems, simultaneously addressing energy needs and providing sustainable livelihoods. In Uttarakhand, women farmers have championed the cultivation of climate-resilient crops like millets, enhancing food security while promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Community-led water management projects, such as the restoration of traditional water sources, have also enabled women to mitigate the impacts of water scarcity and droughts. These localised interventions highlight how empowering women as active participants in climate solutions not only addresses their vulnerabilities, but also positions them as agents of transformative change. India’s climate policies, including the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC), largely adopt a gender-neutral approach, failing to address the differentiated impacts of climate change on women. While these policies IDOS Discussion Paper 9/2025 49 recognise women’s vulnerabilities in principle, they often exclude women as active contributors to climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. To address these gaps, policy reforms must integrate intersectional analyses, prioritise women’s leadership in climate governance and allocate resources for gender-responsive actions. Learnings and recommendations Integrating intersectionality in policies and programmes: To address systemic inequities in health and climate action, cross-sectoral policy reforms must integrate intersectional frameworks that acknowledge overlapping oppressions of gender, caste, class and disability. Embedding intersectionality in programmes ensures that marginalised groups receive tailored support to overcome barriers and participate in transformative change. Gender-responsive governance should actively include women, particularly from marginalised communities, in decision-making processes across sectors. Since the last two decades, “intersectionality”19 has been a part of the discourse of global and local feminisms; however, a similar approach has neither been a policy priority nor has it been adopted while designing interventions for achieving gender equality. Community-led approaches and collaborations with community members: For fostering ownership and long-term impact, interventions must be co-created and led by the community to reflect the lived realities of those most affected by systemic inequities (e.g., the dictionary of violence by Nirantar, women’s federations, and health interventions led by DMSC). Engaging women as partners – not just beneficiaries – in designing initiatives, such as climate-resilient agricultural practices or community health plans, ensures that programmes are context-specific and culturally relevant. Investing in strengthening leadership of grassroots women through training programmes will enhance their decision-making capacities, financial literacy and advocacy skills. These competencies will help them form networks and amplify their influence in both community and policy settings. For making policy contextual, intersectional and intersectoral, it is essential to include community representatives within the process of planning. All government initiatives should be designed in collaboration with the community to address both behavioural and structural changes. Innovation of process and product: Innovations must prioritise technologies and investment strategies that align with the needs of marginalised women. Health-tech and climate-tech innovations, such as mobile-based health platforms and solar energy training programmes, can address systemic barriers while creating sustainable livelihoods. These technologies must be designed with accessibility in mind, particularly for women with limited literacy or digital skills. Donor collaboration is crucial, but the funding model needs to be revamped. The funding model requires a shift from short-term, outcome-driven funding to a long-term investment that prioritises community engagement, resilience-building and capacity development Finally, capacity building and awareness efforts must focus on social norms, especially patriarchal norms and their harmful impacts within communities and households, as well as the consequential focus on behavioural shifts, using innovative pedagogies that connect with lived realities. The content of learning should demystify gender-related myths and adopt an equity 19 The term “intersectionality” was coined in 1989 by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw. Intersectionality focuses on uncovering and understanding the experiences and challenges faced by individuals who occupy multiple and intersecting group identities. The central ideas of intersectionality have long historic roots – black activists and feminists, as well as post-colonial, queer and other scholars have all produced work that reveals the interdependent complex social norms and systems that shape human lives.