Women Taking the Lead: Supporting Feminist Research on Climate, Peace and Security

As part of our Women Taking the Lead project, we launched a research grant programme in 2025 to strengthen feminist research and amplify women’s perspectives on the links between gender, climate change, peace and security across the MENA region.

Building on an online training programme on feminist research methods, we awarded five research grants to feminist researchers and organisations from Yemen, Egypt, Iraq and Libya. The selected studies explore locally rooted challenges, including climate adaptation and peacebuilding in Yemen, women-led responses to climate change in Egypt, climate adaptation and displacement in rural Iraq, and the links between climate change, conflict and displacement in Libya.

The grantees received individual mentoring and editorial support throughout the research process, helping strengthen the quality and policy relevance of their work.

Through this initiative, elbarlament aims to increase the visibility of locally produced feminist knowledge, strengthen evidence-based climate and peace advocacy, and ensure that voices from the MENA region are better represented in global policy discussions.

Here are the five papers:

– Addressing Climate Vulnerability in Rural KRI – A Policy Perspective to Prevent Displacement and Strengthen Community Resilience

– Rural Women Facing Climate Change: A Field Study on the Impact of Environmental Shifts on Work and Economic Empowerment in Iraq

– Libya: Between Climate Adaptation Policies and Institutional Fragility

– A Bottom-Up Approach to Gender-Responsive Climate Adaptation and Peacebuilding in Yemen’s Agricultural Communities

– Women in Dakahlia: Climate Adaptation, Leadership, and Peacebuilding Opportunities”