Multi-country toolkit on Shrinking Civic Space for women-led groups, CSOs and organizers in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia

Overview

The program “Feminist Power in Action for Women’s Economic Rights” (FemPawer), aims to strengthen the capacities of young women who face multiple economic gender-based violence (E/GBV) discriminations in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia to become leaders for change. By holding duty bearers accountable and improving conditions for young women in the informal sector through target-led activities, the program ensures that discriminated young women become advocates for their own rights and propose relevant solutions and recommendations. The FemPawer program focuses on strengthening leadership, challenging prevailing social norms, and promoting women’s economic rights (WER). It is led by a consortium of 4 organizations and consists of a network of around 35 Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), also referred to as Partner Organizations (POs), that are diverse and vary in size, experience, geographical location, and profile.

Kvinna till Kvinna, Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTDA), The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD), and Arab Women Organization (AWO), together, are looking for a team of consultants, to develop a multi-country toolkit on advocacy strategizing against shrinking civic space for women-led groups, CSOs and organizers in -Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Tunisia – working on advocacy against Economic Gender Based Violence (eGBV).

About Kvinna till Kvinna

The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation has defended women’s rights since 1993. Today, we are one of the world’s leading feminist women’s rights organizations, working directly in areas affected by war and conflict to strengthen the influence and power of all women. We work closely together with around 150 partner organizations in 20 countries to defend women’s rights, achieve gender equality and justice, and reach lasting feminist peace. We work in both conflict-affected and humanitarian contexts, supporting women’s rights and peace building with a long-term perspective. We strive to be a flexible and reliable partner for women’s rights organizations in these contexts, supporting them to adapt their work to the state of conflict and emergencies.

About other members in the consortium

AWO has been operating in Jordan since 1970, their mandate is to promote gender equality and women’s rights. CRTDA has been operating in Lebanon and regionally since 2003 and their mandate is to promote gender and citizenship equality and social justice and to have women become politically, socially, and economically autonomous and give them the voice and agency needed to participate in political and social societal spheres. PWWSD has been operating in Palestine since 1981 as a social movement and registered in 2001, and their mandate is to strive for national liberation, gender equality, the eradication of all forms of discrimination against women, and activate women’s participation in social and democratic change.

Background

Shrinking civic space is the process of increasing restrictions on the space in which civil society organizes and brings forward its positions. It occurs when state-sponsored or non-state actors place restrictions on the fundamental rights of civil society, including the freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of expression. This takes several forms, such as states imposing legal restrictions to control civil society, increased criminalization of human rights work, funding restrictions, tighter reporting requirements, financial access, bank de-risking, over-compliance with sanctions, administrative burden and discriminatory due diligence measures by banks and donors. Shrinking civic space is a trend that has been increasing in the MENA region, and most WROs have been forced to learn how to operate in it.

The way space for civil society organizing shrinks is clearly gendered, which tends to be overlooked. In many contexts, the civic space is the most important arena for women’s rights defenders and activists to do their work, as more formal decision-making structures often exclude them. Research has shown that the most important factor for stronger legislation on GBV and the implementation of this legislation is for a country to have a strong feminist movement. FemPawer POs are operating in an increasingly shrinking civic space and need better tools and training to face the growing challenges while working on women economic empowerment.

Therefore, an easy-to-use toolkit is needed on advocacy strategizing against shrinking civic space. The toolkit should enable Partner Organizations to better navigate and advocate against eGBV. This toolkit aims to collect from POs their lived experiences on shrinking civic space, considering existing obstacles and including mitigation strategies to resist the restrictions hindering right holders’ ability to implement advocacy and lobbying campaigns that promote women’s rights. The toolkit should enable right holders, mostly young and marginalized women advocates and members of partner organizations (POs), to advocate and mobilize women and communities to resist the restrictions of shrinking space on their ability to mobilize, gather evidence, engage communities, and advocate in safe spaces.

Objectives

1. Document the experiences of POs/ WRO/Activists what is happening in civic space at local and national level when promoting women economic rights.
2. Develop an easy-to-use toolkit with recommendations for advocacy strategizing, in Arabic and English, to be used by WROs and young women advocating for Women Rights issues.
3. Create a safe space among Partner Organizations to reflect on trends and dimensions of civic space, and how to navigate shrinking civic space when working against eGBV
4. Identify specific support needed for Partner Organizations to face the growing challenges of shrinking civic space

Methodology and Scope

We foresee the “Toolkit” to include the below, however, this can be discussed and revised with the consultancy team:

• An updated narrative on the experiences of shrinking space by Women Right Organizations (WROs) and young women activists (their definition, barriers, resistance, practices, challenges, etc.) in the selected countries to be used in advocacy fora;
• Recommendations related to addressing shrinking civic spaces when working on Women Rights issues and highlight the gendered aspects of shrinking civic space as well as suggestions for mitigation measures with examples from similar settings or sharing knowledge and experience through safe spaces between POs/ WRO/Activists.
• Needs raised by POs to face the growing challenges of shrinking civic space.
• A mapping of allies and institutions that can play a role in lifting restrictions and easing the shrinking space such as UN agencies and mechanisms, International Financial Institutions, regional institutions…etc;
• Explain in practice the role and responsibility of the local, regional, and international actors in countering gendered shrinking civic space.

The assignment will ensure that the methodology is Intersectional and Feminist. It understands inequality as a multi-dimensional power relation of discrimination in which identities and expressions of gender, race, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, age, and class interact, forming and reinforcing social inequality, injustice, and discrimination. These intersections are endless and cannot be considered independently from one another, since they constantly interact with each other and often reinforce the oppression each brings. In the Program, working on intersectionality means considering the opinions of young women (intersected with social status and disability) and learning from those who are facing the oppression associated with these identities in the field of E/GBV.

Intended Users

The toolkit is mainly intended to be used WROs sub-granted in FemPawer and young women champions who are part of the FemPawer network. The toolkit will also be shared internally among consortium partner organizations so other staff/program can make use of the toolkit. The toolkit can also be shared with WRO outside of FemPawer program. It is important when drafting the final report to safeguard the safety and security of participants and ensure that this toolkit does not backlash on participants.

Timeline

The consultancy related activities are expected to be carried out over a period of four months (September 01, 2023 – December 31, 2023). The timeline (duration and start/end date) can be re-discussed with the consultancy team.

The consultancy team when planning the timeline of the work should take into consideration that a “Working Group” will be involved in reviewing and providing feedback at different stages of the consultancy.

Deliverables

1. Inception report, including:
   1. Questionnaires / interview guides for the KIIs and Focus Group Discussions
   2. Suggested outline of the toolkit
2. Toolkit on intersectional gendered shrinking space, including:
   1. Context on gendered shrinking civic space in each country
   2. Lived experiences of Partner Organizations on shrinking civic space
   3. Recommendation for advocacy strategizing
3. In consultation with partner organizations, include risk and solidarity strategies to face imposed restrictions.
4. Workshop to present the toolkit and verify the narratives & needs with the participants from WROs, consortium members, and KtK staff.

Organization of the consultancy

Logistics

The consultants are expected to use their own equipment (laptop, phone etc.) to carry over the activities. The consultancy team must have representation in each country. The documents/tools can be developed in Arabic or English, however, all final versions need to be presented at the end in both languages.

Managing and reporting

The consortium coordinator will be the main focal point for the consultant, however, throughout the different milestones of the consultancy, regular communication, coordination, and review/feedback will be carried out closely with a working group within the program.

Budget

A detailed budget suggested by the consultant in EURO, should be shared along with the technical offer submitted by the consultant (The monetary amount suggested by the external consultant is “All tax included”).

The total budget for the assignment shall cover all the costs, including salaries, travel and per diem, insurances, and any other expenses related to the assignment such as hiring of interpreter/ local team members. Contracted consultant/s cannot further subcontract the assignment. In cases where the tender includes a team of consultants, their division of labor shall be presented in advance to the Consortium Coordinator.

Qualifications

The consultant (s) should meet the desired criteria:

• Ability to demonstrate experience in and knowledge of the intersectional gendered civic space in Lebanon, Jordan, Tunis, and Palestine, including the challenges, opportunities, and current debates on the topic,
• Professional experience working with women’s rights organizations,
• Professional experience in conducting similar work is preferable,
• Full proficiency in spoken and written Arabic and English, and French for people carrying the assignment in Tunisia,
• Ability to handle tight deadlines in a professional manner,
• Great communication skills,
• Organized and timely,
• Creative in overcoming barriers and ability to coordinate with multiple entities.

Women and people with intersecting identities are highly encouraged to apply.