The role of non-governmental organizations in the empowerment process of Syrian refugee women : a case study in Lebanon

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Graduate School of Social Sciences MSc International Relations

Master thesis

The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Empowerment

Process of Syrian Refugee Women

A case study in Lebanon

Date of Submission: January 27, 2017

Michelle ter Meer | 10713050 Supervisor | Dr. J.M.J. Doomernik

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Dedication

I would like to dedicate this research to the all the women I interviewed, Syrian or Lebanese, refugee or manager, young or old. Because of their input, real changes are being made for women all over Lebanon and Syria in the near future. I am honored to meet all of them, to hear their stories and that they were willing to welcome me for a small moment in their lives. Some women showed me that you have to make the best out of it, every single day, even when you have little possibilities to do so. Other women proved me their strength by operating in a world dominated by men. Without these women, I wouldn’t have been able to discuss my topic. This research is for them.

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Acknowledgements

First of all, I want to thank Mr. Doomernik for his support throughout the research process. I am very lucky to have a supervisor who supported my plan to conduct research in Lebanon from the beginning. I appreciate his valuable insights, patience with me and the opportunity he gave me to present my findings to another group of his students. Secondly, I would like to thank Dr. Guita Hourani, director of the Lebanese Emigration Research Center, for accepting me as research affiliate at the same organization. I am very honored to meet her and to receive her advice on the topic of women’s empowerment in the Middle East. Thirdly, I would like to thank Jasmin Lilian Diab, the most culturally-sensitive, intelligent women I know. Without her, this thesis wouldn’t have existed. I am glad her bike got stolen in Pisa and I owe her so much, including another LN in Jounieh. Last but definitely not least, I would like to thank my parents Bert and Christine. I am very grateful they always believe in me and support me no matter how crazy my plans may seem. Thanks to them I have been able to pursue my dreams and have become the person I am today.

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Abstract

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, millions of people have fled Syria, most of them ending up in neighboring countries such as Lebanon and Jordan. Around 75% of this refugee population are women and children. Women and girls are more prone to suffer than men during conflicts. However, life as a female refugee can have an unexpected side effect: empowerment. Refugee women need to take on more responsibilities due to the difficult economic and legal circumstances they live in, in order to survive. The goal of this research has been to find out to what extent the rise of aid organizations assisted in the empowerment of Syrian refugee women in Lebanon. The research has been carried out by interviews with Syrian refugee women and organizations set up since their arrival in Lebanon.

Empowerment has always been a debatable concept by many scholars, as it is hard to define. To measure empowerment, this research elaborates on the Gender and Development (GAD) framework, with a special focus on the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG). According to this goal, empowerment can be seen as the ability to have a greater efficiency in carrying out a woman’s desired responsibilities and activities, the so called ‘effectiveness of agency’. The second concept of empowerment used in this research goes beyond this framing. It is the ability to make strategic life choices, whereby a woman is able to act on the restrictive aspects of her responsibilities and activities in order to change them, the so called ‘transformative agency’. By using two different notions of empowerment, this research aims to give further insights to the concept of empowerment.

Furthermore, this research tries to show the influence of Western donors on the programs offered by the organizations that have been set up since the arrival of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. By investing how the organization have been supported, this research tries to detect a correlation between funding and possible outcomes of a program. Nevertheless, predominantly the intention has been to show that female refugees are not solely victims, being a refugee can create possibilities for a more empowered life as well.

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List of abbreviations

CVO – Civil society organizations

GAD – Gender and Development

GBV – Gender-based violence

LERC – Lebanese Emigration Research Center

MDG – Millennium Development Goal

MENA – Middle East North Africa

NDU – Notre Dame University

NGO – Non-governmental organization

PVO – Private voluntary organizations

TWE – Teach Women English

UN – United Nations

UNESCWA – United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

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1. Introduction

Out of the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring, the Syrian Civil War emerged, an armed conflict between the government of Bashar Al-Assad and the opposition, both divided by different (international) fractions. In March of this year, the crisis hit a grim milestone. After 5 years of civil war, no negotiation or agreement had been reached, while the international community failed as well in its attempt to find a solution for the crisis. The result is a refugee crisis the world hasn’t seen before. According to Filippo Grandi, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), ‘Syria is the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time, a

continuing cause of suffering for millions which should be garnering a groundswell of support around the world’ (UNHCR, March 2016). The total amount of person that have fled Syria, have

reached 4.8 million in December 2016, whereby 1.2 million have applied for asylum in Europe (UNHCR, December 2016). The result of this sudden amount in asylum applications is an increased tension between states within the EU, whereby even the EU as international organization is questioned, and tension between the EU member states and Turkey. Nevertheless, the majority of the refugee population ends up in neighboring states such as Lebanon and Jordan (UNHCR, December 2016). As the crisis intensified in the last couple of years, surrounding states decided to stricter manage their borders, as the strain on their own country by the sudden amount of refugees became too heavy. Lebanon for example hosts official over one million Syrian refugees, but according to aid organizations this number is much higher. In Lebanon, refugees need to buy a permit for legal residency, which they most of the time can’t afford, resulting in illegal residency (Aljazeera, 2016).

1.1 Women during conflicts

As in most conflicts, women and children are the largest proportion of displaced persons. Around 75% of the Syrian refugee population are women and children (UNHCR, December 2016). During war times, women and girls are disproportionately affected due to a lack of access to essential services, as humanitarian crises have shown before (Sami et al., 2013). Women and girls are more exposed to gender-based violence (GBV), especially sexual violence, a deterioration of mental health and newborn and maternal complications. The burden on women increases as well as they are not only caregivers and providers, but as well

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becoming more often head of household as their husband is away or death (Sami et al., 2013). In the community, women and girls face more harassment than men such as transactional sex and forced marriage, and at home they are more prone to domestic violence as their male relatives may feel useless and frustrated during conflict times (Sami et al., 2013). As women play an essential role in post conflict reconstruction, it is of major importance that their basic needs should be met (Sami et al., 2013).

Women and girls are more prone to suffer than men during conflicts. However, life as a refugee can have an unexpected side effect as well: empowerment. According to The Washington Post (November 2016), Syrian refugee women in Lebanon need to take on more responsibilities due to the difficult economic and legal circumstances they live in, even if they don’t want to. As more refugee women becoming heads of households, they have to take care of the family. These new circumstance can be regarded as something negative, but it can be positive as well. Women have to undertake new roles which were previous only given to men. As most Syrian women need to work in order for the family to survive, they have to leave their homes without a male relative accompanying them. For many Syrian women, this can be the first time in public without a man by her side. Familiar social constraints are removed, in order to survive. Besides taken on larger roles, refugee women come in contact with different aid organizations that promote women’s right (The Washington Post, November 2016). Different organizations are set up to help refugees, including organizations that advocate gender equality and women’s empowerment. Syrian refugee women therefore can experience a degree of personal autonomy they couldn’t have experienced back in Syria, because of the shift in roles between men and women and the contact with aid organizations that make them more aware of their rights. In this thesis, I would like to investigate to what extent the rise of aid organizations assisted in the empowerment of Syrian refugee women in Lebanon.

1.2 Relevance of research

In this thesis, the focus will be on the empowerment of Syrian refugee women in Lebanon. The social relevance of this topic is of major importance, as women play an essential role in the post conflict construction of a state (Sami et al., 2013). I therefore believe it is crucial to focus now on refugee women and girls, as they will play a key role in the rebuilding of Syria.

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By putting the emphasis on them, women and girls can invest later on in their own country, resulting in a more stable and prosperous Syria.

The term ‘refugee’ contains different perceptions. There is the negative understanding, of being helpless and lost. Although I don’t want to deny the hardship refugees have to endure, I believe this view has been exploited by the media in the Western world to raise more money for aid, among other things. Nevertheless, there is a positive side as well. Refugee women can become more empowered as they have to take on different roles and need to work. Being a refugee can become liberating, as roles which were previous denied to women are now given to them in order to survive. This thesis has as aim to breach the stereotypical image of refugees, as I believe in the agency of a person.

The research area of this thesis is Lebanon, as this country hosts the highest amount of Syrian refugees in the world (UNHCR, 2015). Different aid organizations have been set up in this country in order to help refugee women to become more empowered. Private organizations and voluntary institutions arise as reaction to the demand in the sudden increase in the amount of people that want to enter a state. This is called the Institutional Theory (Massey et al., 1993). In this study, I would like to investigate what kind of institutions are set up for the empowerment of Syrian refugee women. Besides, I want to examine who is funding these organizations, as this might be of relevance for the outcome of the offered programs, according to scholars such as Eaterly (2007) and Agyeman et al. (2009). By investing who the donors of the organizations are, I would like to detect a correlation between the outcome of a program and the way it is funded.

To measure empowerment, this thesis elaborates on the Gender and Development (GAD) framework, with a special focus on the third Millennium Development Goal (MDG). However, this approach to empowerment has it shortcomings. Therefore the notion of empowerment as described by Kabeer (1999, 2005) is used to challenge the framing of women’s empowerment in the GAD framework. This research might therefore create further insights to the concept of empowerment.

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This thesis is organized into seven different chapters. In the first chapter the subject of the research is introduced, which is to what extent Syrian refugee women become more empowered with help of programs offered by different organizations set up since their arrival in Lebanon. The second chapter will focus on the importance of women in the state-building process and the risks Syrian refugee women face in Lebanon. It is necessary that this context is given in order to understand the social relevance of the main subject. Besides, a starting point is needed in order to measure the level of empowerment of Syrian refugees.

Chapter three explains the theoretical foundation on which this thesis is built. The Institutional Theory of Massey et al. (1993) is being analyzed, with an explicit focus on non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The GAD framework and the concept of empowerment is motivated, whereby the vision of Kabeer (1999, 2005) on empowerment is taken into account as well. Chapter four, the research framework, contains the research question and sub questions, research location, the units of analysis and the research methods. This chapter takes the limitations and considerations of this research as well into account.

The following two chapters contain the empirical findings of this research. Chapter five discusses the kind of organizations that have been set up for the empowerment of Syrian refugee women; what programs they offer; and by whom these programs are funded. In chapter six, the level of empowerment of Syrian refugee women is measured. In the final chapter, chapter seven, an answer is given to the main question alongside an overview of the shortcomings of this research. In the discussion, suggestions are drafted for further research on the topic of women’s empowerment and the role organizations play in this process.

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2. Context

The first part of the chapter will focus on the importance of women in the state-building process, as this is necessary in order to understand the social significance of the main subject. The second part of this chapter focusses on the risks Syrian refugee women face in Lebanon. A starting point is needed in order to measure to what extent Syrian refugees become more empowered with help of organizations in Lebanon. By exposing the threats and dangers female refugees possible have to endure in Lebanon, I would like to show that refugees are from the beginning disadvantaged.

2.1 Women in the state building process

According to the World Bank, the number of people living in countries where development outcomes are affected by fragility, conflict, and violence is around two billion (The World Bank, 2016). Although there is no single agreed definition of ‘fragility’, the main factors that are associated with fragility emphasizes a lack of institutional capacity or legitimacy. States that are fragile are therefore not capable of supporting their citizens, as security and stability is needed for development (Sweetman & Rowlands, 2016). Syria is therefore an example of a fragile state, as it is not capable of supporting or secure its citizens due to the conflict that is going on.

Development in fragile context has a dual focus, as well for the people as for the institutions they depend on. As women and girls are supported in their empowerment, the state and other institutions benefit as well as an environment of security and stability is being created (Sweetman & Rowlands, 2016). Research have shown that gender inequality can create violence and conflict, as it may be the cause of ‘fragility’ in a state (Sweetman & Rowlands, 2016). Although there are some reports that state otherwise, such as a report by LandInfo (2011), whereby conflicts are resolved by exchanging women as brides between the two arguing families, the starting point in this thesis shall be that gender inequality can be a cause of violence within a state. In Syria, before the war started, women were already disadvantaged in comparison to men. Discriminatory laws and practices were encouraging gender-based violence, preventing women and girls from seeking justice as the laws were not in their favor (Human Rights and Gender Justice, 2016). For example, if a girl was raped, her

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rapist could escape punishment by marrying her. If the girl wouldn’t do this, she could possibly face a ‘honor’ crime, as she has become a shame to her family (Human Rights and Gender Justice, 2016). Spousal rape isn’t even criminalized in Syrian law and early or forced marriages happened often before the war started in 2011, so women were already in a very vulnerable position from the beginning (Human Rights and Gender Justice, 2016). As further research is needed to claim that gender inequality in Syria were as well a cause of the violence, it is worth mentioning in this research. Women were from the start disadvantaged in Syria as the law wasn’t supporting them, which could lead to a weak state from the beginning.

There are several central goals in state-building. Effective, accountable and legitimate public institutions who are capable of peaceful solutions during internal conflicts and who provide security from external threats should be created. These public institutions should uphold the law and should deliver and facilitate core public services and goods (OECD, 2013). Promoting gender equality in the context of state-building is necessary for several reasons: gender equality is in its own right an important goal; institutions can become more representative and development issues can improve as gender equality is pursuit; and by applying gender-sensitive approaches to the state-building process can result in the achievement of broader state-building and peacebuilding goals as mentioned before (OECD, 2013).

What should be taken into account, is that policy makers pay attention to the fact that men and women are different affected by conflict, peacebuilding and state-building processes (OECD, 2013). The role that are associated with being a male should be recognized as well, as gender roles, identities and relations have an influence on the outcomes of state-building itself. Masculinity and femininity are negotiated definitions of what it means to be a man or a woman (Bouta et al., 2005), it is the set of characteristics that men or women are expected to live up to in a particular context (OECD, 2013). During conflicts, a militarized masculinity is created which is deeply oppressive of women and as well men (Bouta et al., 2005). Especially while being a refugee, men can develop a lower self-esteem as they fail to behave in a way that is expected from them, such as being the breadwinner or head of household. The result is more violence against their own women and children (Anani, 2013). By failing to live up to the social norms of masculine leadership, which is exaggerated during conflicts, increased

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violence can be generated against the ones men do have power over, which are most of the time their own wives and children (OECD, 2013).

Gender inequalities and differences become overemphasized during and after a conflict. However, there is potential for women to achieve change in the aftermath of violence (Bouta et al., 2005). During conflict, and as well in non-conflict societies, political institutions tend to have an exclusionary attitude towards women. Therefore less women, compared to men, are involved in the peacebuilding process during and after the conflict. Women are as well more likely to make a difference in the peacebuilding process, so increased participation of women may contribute to a wider public support for peace accords (Bouta et al., 2005). It is therefore of major importance to put the focus on gender-equality issues in the post-conflict momentum, so the involvement of women and other marginalized groups can increase in the peacebuilding process (Bouta et al., 2005). Policy options to promote gender equality in the peace accords are for example training women to run for political office, thereby increasing the number of female politicians; a quota to achieve a certain amount of female politicians; more political consultation with organizations that support women; and support discussions with political and public bodies concerning women’s involvement in the peacebuilding process (Bouta et al., 2005).

Syrian women were before the war started disadvantaged in comparison to men, possible leading to an increase in the fragility of the state. In the post-war period, hopefully somewhere soon, a more stable environment can be created as women get the chance to become more empowered. It is therefore of importance that a gender perspective on state-building is needed so sustained progress can be made to build stability first at the local level and in the end at the global level (Sweetman & Rowlands, 2016). Empowerment of women is therefore of huge importance for the rebuilding of Syria, as not only Syria but the whole world can benefit from this perspective.

2.2 Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Many refugees are staying undocumented in Lebanon, as a stay documentation or required entry is needed in Lebanon according to Lebanese national law. This stay documentation, the so called residency visa, has to be renewed annually (Norwegian Refugee Council, 2014). The

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consequences are a lot of problems for the Syrian refugee population, as the costs of this visa are 200 US dollars. Syrian refugees that can’t afford this visa are considered illegally present in Lebanon, resulting in a limited legal status. With this status, refugees lack the rights to protection or assistance in Lebanon (Norwegian Refugee Council, 2014).

There are health issues as well among Syrian refugees. There is no access to and knowledge about women’s health care options in Lebanon, resulting in reproductive health and pregnancy complications among Syrian refugee women (The Daily Star, October 2010). As many refugees are limited in their movement due to their limited legal states in Lebanon, they don’t leave the area where they are located as they have the cross checkpoints. Access to healthcare is therefore a big issue (Norwegian Refugee Council, 2014). Besides, most of the refugees can’t afford healthcare (The Daily Star, October 2010).

According to the Speedschool (2016), adolescents between 15 and 18 years old have the highest risk of dropping out of school, only 8% is following an education. Young men are trying to find a job to support their family, Syrian young women tend to marry at a younger age. Early marriages weren’t uncommon in Syria before the war started (Human Rights and Gender Justice, 2016), however nowadays in Lebanon an exaggerating 24% of the Syrian girls get married before the age of 18 according to a study by the University of St. Joseph (Huffington Post, 2015).

Not only do Syrian girls face child marriage and drop out of school, prostitution is as well a phenomenon among refugees. In Akabieh, a poor area in Lebanon, prostitution among Syrian refugees is so widespread is it considered common, according to locals (The Daily Star, July 2013). Social workers in this area emphasize that these are not cases of prostitution, but ‘survival sex’ as the Syrian refugees have no other options for survival. What is even worse, is that Syrians are becoming the overwhelming majority of human trafficking in Lebanon, with numbers increasing as the war continues in Syria (The Daily Star, July 2013). The women have become more vulnerable by the war, becoming victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Traffickers focus intentionally on orphans or girls from vulnerable families (Naharet, April 2016).

Syrian refugee women face many challenges in Lebanon, ranging from limited access to healthcare to human trafficking. In this research, the focus is on the positive aspect of being

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a female refugee, as this life can have an unexpectedly side effect: empowerment. However, there should be a starting point, otherwise empowerment can’t be measured. Although it is very generalizing to do so, many Syrian women have limited choice to make their own decisions, as they are refugees. Once they enter Lebanon, they are from the beginning disadvantaged as the refugee status brings a lot of restrictions and dangers. Therefore I want to conclude that Syrian refugee women are disempowered from the moment they reside in Lebanon. This is the starting point on which I would like to elaborate further in this research.

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3. Theoretical framework

In this chapter, two different theories are being analyzed which underlie this research. The first theory is the institutional theory as described by Massey et al. (1993). According to this theory, the amount of voluntary organizations arise when there is an increase in immigration in a specific country. A special focus will be on NGOs. The second theory is the Gender and Development (GAD) approach, and describes the mainstream positioning of women’s issues in development. The main focus is on the concept of empowerment. As the GAD framework on empowerment is not sufficient enough for this research, the concept on women’s empowerment as described by Kabeer (1999, 2005) is being used to complement the GAD approach.

3.1 Institutional Theory

According to Massey et al. (1993), private institutions and voluntary organizations arise when international migration has begun. This is to satisfy the demand that has arisen as a result of the imbalance between the amount of people that enter a state and the limited numbers of visas these host countries normally has to offer. An economic niche is created for entrepreneurs, as well for institutions that are dedicated to make profit out of international movement (Massey et al., 1993). Business and social institutions arise to help the migrants, such as immigrant lawyers, labor contractors and people smugglers. These institutions can be legal, illegal or ambiguous (Teitelbaum, 2008). These illegal and ambiguous institutions are resulting in a black market in immigration (Massey et al., 1993). The organizations that are for-profit and entrepreneurs supply different services for the migrant, asking a fee for this type of service. This can be smuggling across borders, illegal transportation, arranged marriage between migrants and inhabitants of the host country, illegal visas and documents, labor contracting between migrants and employers, and lodging and other activities in the host country (Massey et al., 1993).

As reaction to the exploitation of migrants, voluntary humanitarian organization are set up to protect the rights of migrants, legal and illegal, and improve their treatment. These humanitarian groups help migrants by providing shelter, counseling, social services and advice how to obtain legal documents (Massey et al., 1993). After a while, these individuals, firms

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and organizations become institutionally stable and familiar to immigrants, leading to a form of social capital where immigrants can draw upon (Massey et al., 1993). This thesis focuses on the aid organizations that arise when a sudden amount of refugees enter a state, according to the theory. Although the Institutional Theory from Massey et al. (1993) is based on the United States of America, I think it is applicable for Lebanon as well. As shall be explained in the following section, NGOs will be in this research the aid organizations that arise according to the Institutional Theory. As Lebanon has a very dynamic NGO sector whereby the organizations are operating in all domains and aspects of public life (Abou Assi, 2015), I assume that the theory of Massey et al. (1993) is applicable in the case of Lebanon.

3.1.1 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

According to the World Bank, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are ‘private

organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development’

(Malena, 1995, p.13). In a wider context, NGOs are value-based, non-profit organizations which are independent from any government. Instead they depend, in whole are partial, on charitable donations and voluntary work (Malena, 1995). The term NGO is very general and include different types of organizations, such as civil society organizations (CSOs), charities, private voluntary organizations (PVOs), third sector organizations, etcetera (Shah, 2005). The term NGO is sometimes used as an umbrella term, as it uphold many forms of organizations (Shah, 2005). In contrast to long established institutions such as the United Nations, NGOs have always tried to resist centralism as working together should entail a loose consensus. However, in the past decade there has been a shift in favor of closer cooperation between NGOs, as humanitarian assistance is needed more than ever (Bennet, 2014).

Since the 1970s, NGOs are trying to fill in the gaps that governments cannot, or will not, fill (Shah, 2005). In the field of international development, NGOs have become considerable players. Between 1970 and 1985, the aid spend by NGOs increased ten-fold (Malena, 1995). NGOs spend nowadays collectively on annual basis an estimated 9 – 10 billion US dollar, whereby they reach around 250 million people who live in absolute poverty (Bennet, 2014). They are connected to the wider aid community, which are international governments,

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the UN, and other multilateral bodies, more than ever and the role NGOs play in the international response to human disasters is significant (Bennet, 2014). Since the increase of NGOs in developing countries, a ‘third sector’ has been created. NGOs deliver services, advocate for policy change, or build infrastructure (Abelson, 2003, p.2). A network within and across sectors has been created, form local to global. Although NGOs differ in seize and structure, their networks have become increasingly powerful and of high importance in international issues (Abelson, 2003).

There are a few reasons why NGOs could have become so increasingly important on the international level, according to Robbins (2002). The end of the Cold War first of all made it easier to operate for NGOs. Due to the advancement of communication, especially the internet, global communities and bonds between like-minded people could evolve across state boundaries. Employment opportunities, better resources, and growing professionalism increased in the organization of NGOs and more people became aware of global problems because of the media’s ability to inform a broader public, resulting in a demand for their government to take action (Robbins, 2002). What may be the most important is the shift in a more neoliberal political and economic agenda, whereby NGOs receive more support from governments and official aid agencies. In a neoliberal system, the state minimizes its role in health and education, so NGOs are starting to fill this gap as an alternative for the state (Robbins, 2002).

NGOs have become an important factor in building civil society. Especially in African countries, NGOs sometimes supplement the state, but most of the time they are replacing the state by opposing or disengaging from state policies and strategies (Marcussen, 1996). As Fowler (quoted in Marcussen, 1996, p.406) describes it: The dominant Western concept of

socio-economic development based on liberalism and market forces maintains that NGOs must be supported because of their political role within civil society.

According to the definition of a NGO, they are non-profit organizations which are independent from any government (Malena, 1995). However, NGOs need funding in order to survive, therefore depending on donations of businesses, private sources and as well governments. All or some of these funders can have an indirect or direct political influence on the actions and decisions that NGOs make (Shah, 2005). In fact, NGOs that receive aid or even

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depending of aid given by a government are the rule rather than the exception, according to Robbins (2002).

According to the Institutional Theory (Massey et al., 1993), aid organizations arise when a sudden amount of refugees enter the host country. The term NGO is an umbrella term as it upholds different forms of organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development (Malena, 1995, p.13). This study would like to make use of NGOs that have arisen in Lebanon since the arrival of or have set up special programs for the Syrian population.

3.2 Gender and Development framework

Since the 70s, gender has become more visible as an issue of development. After the publication of Ester Boserup’s Women’s Role in Economic Development, the term ‘Women in Development’ (WID) came into use. Boserup was the first one to systematically use gender as a variable in analyses (Rathgeber, 1990, p.490). Because more attention was drawn to gender, development supporters became more aware of the fact that women were excluded from the advantages of development activity (Akerkar, 2001). Therefore, the WID approach was advocated, whereby local women’s involvement in project activities and in the economy was stimulated. The emphasis was primary focusing on egalitarianism and on strategies and programs on ending discrimination and minimizing disadvantages of women in the productive sector (Rathgeber, 1990).

In the 70s, the WID perspective was closely linked with the concept of modernization that dominated the international mainstream thinking on development. Through industrialization, the standard of living would improve in developing countries. Better living conditions, education, health services and wages would improve once the economy of a developing country began to grow (Rathgeber, 1990). In this concept of modernization, women weren’t seen as a separate unit. The assumption was that if the situation of men improved, so would the situation of women, so all would benefit equally as society in total became more modernized (Rathgeber, 1990). The focus was therefore on men only. After the publication of Boserup, it became clear that women have different needs concerning

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development and therefore the focus shifted to women solely in the WID approach. Although the idea was good, it became obvious that women were already involved in economic activities and that involvement in project activities only increased the labor burden on women (Akerkar, 2001). The WID approach did focus on women, only without taking the context in consideration. Men were not taking in account, therefore the WID approach became an ineffective strategy.

The overcome the shortcomings of WID, Gender and Development (GAD) was touted as the new approach in the 1980s. One of the first definitions of the term ‘gender’ is given by Whitehead (quoted in Østergaard, 1992, p.6):

The relations between men and women are socially constituted and not derived from biology. Therefore the term gender relations should distinguish such social relations between men and women from those characteristics, which can be derived from biological differences. In this connection sex is the province of biology, i.e. fixed and unchangeable qualities, while gender is the province of social science, i.e. qualities which are shaped through the history of social relations and interactions.

Gender is a cultural and social construction that refers to the relative position of men and women within society as in the family (Razavi & Miller, 1995). It is therefore subject to change while sex, as stated above, is permanent. The GAD approach has its roots in socialist feminism and focuses on the interactions and social relations between men and women, and the constructions and contexts of femininities and masculinities (Akerkar, 2001). Men and women are socially constructed, and it lies in the understanding that these social constructions are reinforced by social activities that both define and are defined by them (Razavi & Miller, 1995). These gender relations often take a form whereby the men has a dominant role and women are subordinate (Østergaard, 1992). Women cannot be seen in isolation to men, as WID does, so GAD focuses on gender relations instead of women only (Moser, 1993). The GAD approach has as aim to empower women to improve their position relative to men, therefore benefitting and transforming society as a whole (Williams, 1994). GAD is not only about women, instead it focuses more on the social construction of gender and the specific roles, expectations and responsibilities of men and women. The emphasize is not exclusively on female solidarity, but welcomes contribution from men as well who share the same concern

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for social equity and gender equity (Rathgeber, 1990). The respect for human rights and the equity of women and men is the motivation for the GAD approach (Williams, 1994).

According to Young (1997), the perspective of the GAD approach is holistic whereby the focus lay on reproductive aspects of economic, political and social life in order to understand the shaping of particular aspects of society. The GAD approach, in comparison to WID approach, recognizes the fact that gender relations are correlated with socio-economic and political distribution of power as well as the distribution of wealth, work and resources. It questions these structures as well (Tasli, 2007). GAD doesn’t only want to integrate women more in the development process but has as aim to reexamine the social structures and institutions whereby the entrenched elite shall be questioned and changed (Rathgeber, 1990). It is therefore no surprise that a GAD perspective is rarely fully implemented in activities and projects of international development agencies, as this would in the end lead to a shift in the power relations. Nevertheless, examples can be found whereby the GAD approach is partially implemented (Rathgeber, 1990).

According to the WID concept, an improvement in a woman’s economic situation will automatically lead to the development in other aspects of her life. The GAD approach however is less optimistic, as women are in a disadvantageous position because of their weaker socio-economic and political position and their limited bargaining power. Therefore women should organize together at the local, regional and national level (Tasli, 2007). NGO’s and grassroots organizations play an important role in the development process according to the GAD approach, but the state has as well the responsibility for regulating and promoting women’s empowerment and emancipation (Razavi & Miller, 1995). The state can play a dual role in the developmental process as major employer and as the allocator of social capital (Young, 1997). However, this is quit contradictory because of the poor presentation of women and a shortage of decision-making power in the state apparatus, especially in developing countries (Tasli, 2007).

To realize structural change in order to lessen or eliminate gender inequality and to increase gender awareness in all areas and all levels of public life, the strategy ‘gender mainstreaming’ is introduced by the GAD approach. The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations define ‘gender mainstreaming’ as follows:

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Mainstreaming as a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for men and women of any planned action, including legislation, policies and programs, in all areas and levels. It is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and social spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality (Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, 1997,

quoted in United Nations, 2002: 1).

This definition has as aim gender-sensitive institutional change (Goetz, 1997). The family is the primary institution which should be addresses, followed by the state, market and the community. As this is an extremely demanding task, the GAD concept is quite difficult to implement. In the Beijing Platform for Action from the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, gender mainstreaming was established as a major global strategy for the support of gender equality (United Nations, 2002). This can be seen as the main reference for the GAD approach. Several governments signed this Action Plan but it was never implemented in total by any country. The GAD approach has only made a small impact on the thinking of governments and NGO’s, as it is not easily translated into simple policy demands (Unterhalter, 2005). In the following section I would like to elaborate further on the shortcomings of the GAD approach.

3.2.1 Shortcomings of the GAD approach

Although the GAD approach has inspired new debates concerning women and development, it has drawn as well criticism. In this section I would like to highlight the main critics on the framework.

The first critic is in discourse. As El-Bushra (2000) argues, the concept of gender is very vague. Different agencies and individuals have completely contrasting interpretations and implementations of the concept of gender. Gender is a very neutral term and can be referring to both women and men. Although it is a good idea to focus more on women’s issues in development, Arnfred (2001) argues that the fuzziness of the gender concept is having the opposite effect what the GAD approach tries to achieve. Women’s issues become

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depoliticized, as gender has become an issue of planning, checklists and political correctness. As the GAD concept is nowadays more established, it has moved away from the margin to the center, so it has lost its critical itch as well (Arnfred, 2001).

Second, the GAD concept has as assumption that gender transformation will eventually lead to economic improvement for women (El-Bushra, 2000). For many agencies who are involved in the development of women, their main strategy is only to improve the economic situation of women as this will result in gender equality. Arnfred (2001) goes even a step further and argues that the GAD concept is a mean for economic growth on the neo-liberal economic agenda.

The third critic is the oversimplification of complex issues and translating them in slogans, for example, ‘two-thirds of the world’s work is done by women’ (El-Bushra, 2000, p.57). By reducing sensitive and complex issues of justice and equity into slogans, it could backfire as it is not build on an accurate basis. Women’s struggle for legitimacy and their interest could be damaged by the use of these kind of slogans.

The last critic concerns gender mainstreaming, it is rather hard to implement. It is not an easy task to integrate women at all levels and all spheres of society. An major institutional change in all the levels of the public sphere is needed in order to achieve gender mainstreaming (Tasli, 2007). This institutional change can only take place through ‘top-down strategies’, so to say the political will of the state. However, women are underrepresented on a political level, male resistance and dominance and a general hostile environment form serious restrictions for gender mainstreaming. According to Arnfred (2001), feminists have to realize that male privileges are deeply embedded in the state as institution.

3.2.2 Empowerment

As stated in the first section, the GAD approach has as aim to empower women to improve their position relative to men, therefore benefitting and transforming society as a whole (Williams, 1994). For many feminist scholars, the fact that ‘empowerment’ cannot be clearly defined, is highly appreciated. As an NGO activist put it ‘I like the term empowerment because

no one has defined it clearly yet; so it gives us breathing space to work it out in action terms before we have to pin ourselves down to what it means’ (Kabeer, 1999, p.436). However, in

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the policy domain, measurement is of high importance as there are competing claims for scarce resources.

The third Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is a good example of such a policy. This MDG has as aim gender equality and women’s empowerment (Easterly, 2007) and fits in the GAD concept. It is rather an intrinsic that an instrumental goal, seen as an end in itself instead of an instrument for achieving other goals (Kabeer, 2005). To ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment, three indicators are established that measure the progress: 1) ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education; 2) increasing women’s share of wage employment in the non-agricultural sector; 3) increasing the proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (Fukuda-Parr & Greenstein, 2010, p.3). According to this MDG, education, employment and political participation is needed to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, there are other resources that are being overlooked by this approach on empowerment, according to Kabeer (2005).

According to Kabeer (1999), power is the ability to make choices. Therefore disempowerment means the denial of choice, so empowerment requires a process of change. A person can have many choices in life, so the person’s life can be very powerful. However, it is not an empowered life because the person was from the beginning never disempowered. The process whereby a person that in the first place is denied the ability to make choices and subsequently acquires this ability, is called empowerment (Kabeer, 1999). Choice is relevant to the analysis of power, so the notion of choice should be explained first. The first thing is that choice implies the likelihood of alternatives, so that one could have chosen otherwise. Disempowerment and poverty have a logical correlation because not having the means to meet basic needs exclude the capability to make significant choices. On the other hand, when the basic needs are met not all choices are as important to the definition of power (Kabeer, 1999). Therefore it is important to distinguish first- and second-order choices. First-order choices are strategic life choices which are crucial for a person to live the life he or she wants, such as if and whom to marry or whether to have children. Second-order choices are being framed by first-order choices, and they may be important for the quality of a person’s life but they don’t define life in general (Kabeer, 1999). Concerning empowerment, which is about change, it are the strategic life choices, so first-order choices, that create change for a person.

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Through resources (pre-conditions), agency (process) and achievements (outcomes) choice can be exercised (Kabeer, 1999). Resources are not only material resources, but as well various social and human resources. Social relationships which are directed by institutional domains that form society, such as family, market and the community, decide what kind of resources are acquired (Kabeer, 1999). These kind of resources can be real allocations as future claims or expectations. Access to these resources reflect the rules and norms which control exchange and distribution in the separate institutional domains. These certain norms and rules give specific actors authority over other actors. As they determine the distribution and exchange of resources, the allocative resources tend to be entrenched in the distribution of authoritative resources, which is the ability to determine priorities and enforce demands (Giddens, 1979). Examples of these decision-making authority within a particular institutional domain are heads of households, elites within a community and employers.

Agency, the ability to define a person’s goal and act upon it, is the second dimension to exercise choice (Kabeer, 1999). Not only observable action, but as well the motivation, meaning and purpose a person brings to its activity is part of agency. It is the ‘power within’, a person’s sense of agency. The way people see themselves is the basis of empowerment, and this in turn is correlated with how they are seen by others and society (Kabeer, 2005). Agency can be exercised by individuals or collectivities and is seen as decision-making, but it can as well be a form of negotiation and bargaining, manipulation and deception, resistance and subversion or a process of reflection and analysis (Kabeer, 1999). In relation to power, agency can have a positive or negative meaning. In a positive way, agency refers to a person’s capacity to make its own choices in life and to chase after its own goals, even when opposed by others. In the negative sense, agency can be used by a person to override the agency of another person through the use of coercion, violence or threat (Kabeer, 1999).

According to Sen (1985), agency and resources together are the capabilities. It is the potential that people have for living the life they want, to achieve a valued life in ‘being and doing’ (Kabeer, 1999, p.438). Achievements, the third dimension, is the outcome of people’s effort, the extent to which the potential of agency and resources is being realized or has failed (Kabeer, 2005).

A distinction can be made between the ‘effectiveness’ of agency and ‘transformative’ agency (Kabeer, 2005, p.15) . When a woman has a greater efficiency in carrying out her

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desired responsibilities and activities, she makes effective use of her agency. For transformative agency, a woman is able to act on the restrictive aspects of her responsibilities and activities in order to change them (Kabeer, 2005). The conceptualization of women’s empowerment in the third Millennium Development Goal (Easterly, 2007) and therefore the GAD framework, contributes to effectiveness of agency, but not to transformative agency. Transformative agency can be found through the three dimensions of empowerment, as change in one dimension can lead to changes in others (Kabeer, 2005). Not changes in the immediate inequalities are therefore of importance, but institutional transformation is necessary to initiate change in the long-term. To ensure this institutional change, there should be a movement from individual to collective agency, from private negotiations to public action, and from the informal level to level where power is exercised (Kabeer, 2005, p.16). In this thesis, I want to make use of the two conceptualizations of empowerment, according to the third MDG and as described by Kabeer (1999, 2005), to combine effectiveness of agency and transformative agency. To ensure sustainable change for women, not only the effectiveness of agency should be taken in account, but transformative agency as well.

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4. Research Framework

After elaborating on the context and theoretical framework that motivates this research, this chapter outlines the methodology and research methods that have been used to gather the presented data. This data has been collected in Lebanon between October 22 and November 28 2016. For this thesis, a case study has been used to conduct research. The reason for this decision is motivated in the following parts.

4.1 Research Question

Through the GAD framework, which has been complemented by empowerment as described by Kabeer (1999, 2005), and the Institutional Theory of Massey et al. (1993), the following research question has been shaped:

To what extent has the rise in the existence of aid organizations, assisted in the empowerment of Syrian refugee women in Lebanon?

Sub-question 1: What kind of organizations are set up for women’s development in Lebanon and who has been/is supporting these organizations?

Sub-question 2: To what extent are Syrian refugee women empowered with help of the programs offered by these organizations?

4.2 Research location

Lebanon is a country in the MENA region, with an area of 4.035.5172 square miles and a population of almost 4 million. The country is called ‘the bridge between East and West’, as it is located next at the Mediterranean Sea and because of its socio-cultural milieu (AbouAssi, 2015, p.215). Between 1975 and 1990, the country was divided by a civil war, disrupting its booming economy. After WWI, the French controlled Lebanon, thereby shaping the country’s economic, political and social norms up to today (AbouAssi, 2015). Lebanon is a democratic republic, but the power in the government is divided by the 18 official recognized sectarian communities. The President should always be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of the Parliament a Shia Muslim (Saliba, 2007). Political, religious, and kinship identities overlap to a great extent in Lebanese politics (Thibos, 2013).

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Lebanon has a long, violent past with its neighbor Israel. Israel invaded South Lebanon in 1987 and Beirut in 1982. Since 2000, Israel withdraw from the South, but in 2006 a war was started again between the two countries as Israel was attacking Hezbollah (AbouAssi, 2015). Syria has occupied Lebanon as well for over 25 years, thereby controlling the Lebanese government. The Syrian army left in 2005, after the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and under the pressure of the UN resolution 1559 (AbouAssi, 2015).

Lebanon hosts the largest proportion of Palestinian refugees since 1948 outside Palestinian territories, together with Jordan and Syria. The country therefore didn’t sign the 1951 Refugee Convention, as it has faced many problems with the Palestinian refugees (Akram et al., 2015). One of the consequences of the Palestinian legacy is that Lebanon has a ‘no-camp’ policy (Akram et al., 2015, p.29). Syrian refugees are therefore scattered all over Lebanon (see map 1). About a quarter of Lebanon’s population are Syrian refugees (Akram et al., 2015). As Lebanon is

not bound to the convention, its reaction to the Syrian refugees is based on ad hoc policies which have been implemented since the outbreak of the war. According to Lebanon’s refugee law, refugees are not allowed to remain permanently, but must be resettled (Akram et al., 2015).

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In order to answer the sub-questions, the following units of analysis are being used in this research: 1) Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have been set up in Lebanon since the arrival of Syrian refugees in Lebanon or that have specific programs for this particular group and 2) Syrian refugee women in Lebanon that participated are have been influenced by the programs offered by previous mentioned NGOs.

To select the NGOs suitable for this research, I made use of a Lebanese website called daleel-madani.org. This website contains every NGO operating in Lebanon, including the sector of intervention. Therefore I was able to find different NGOs which were working in the field of gender issues. As I wanted to interview NGOs that have been set up since the arrival of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, I decided to search for NGOs that exist since 2011. However, this narrowed my search too much as I was only able to find a couple of organizations. Therefore I decided to search for NGOs that have specific programs for Syrian women, although the organization existed already since the arrival of the Syrian refugee population. After some research, I found seven organizations that suited my qualifications. At first I contacted them by email, however only two were responding and were open for an interview. Through the website mentioned before I found the phone numbers of two other organizations, which I contacted. These two organizations were also willing to answer my questions. As I still needed more organizations for my research, I asked the office manager of the Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC)1_{for help. She was able to set up another} interview for me, as she knew the director of this organization. Besides, she recommended as well another organization that didn’t had my attention yet, resulting in seven interviews with six organizations: ABAAD, Amel association, Chabibeh, Hayya Bina, Basmeh & Zeitooneh, and Relief and Reconciliation for Syria. I arranged an extra interview with a program officer of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) to investigate what empowerment of women means for the future of Syria. The interviews were divided over three weeks, whereby I had to travel a lot to Beirut, as the headquarters of most organizations were located in the capital of Lebanon.

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Through one of the interviews I had, I was able to approach my second unit of analysis: Syrian refugee women. With help of Hayya Bina, an NGO that has a specific program whereby they teach women English, an interview was arranged for me to gather information on the impact of such a program on the life of Syrian refugee women. Unfortunately, I was not able to interview more Syrian women involved in other programs due to different reasons, such as locations that were too far away or too unsafe for me to visit and agenda incompatibilities. In Lebanon there is no public transport, so everything has to be done by car. I was therefore very dependent of others and the traffic was as well very intense, which made it sometimes impossible to visit another place without sleeping over. As most refugees live in areas far away of where I was staying, I was unable to visit them. Besides, many areas were too unsafe for me to go to. For an overview of all the respondents, see Appendix 1.

4.4 Research Methods

For my research I made use of a case study, an ‘approach to research that facilitates

exploration of a phenomenon within its context using a variety of data sources.’ (Baxter & Jack,

2008, p. 544). There are several reasons to use a case study approach, such as to find out the ‘how’ and ‘why’ reason of a question (Baxter & Jack, 2008, p. 545). As I want to find out to what extent, or so to say in ‘how far’, Syrian women have become more empowered in Lebanon with help of organizations that have been set up since their arrival, my research question is suitable for a case study. This study is therefore a form of a qualitative research. I have made use of semi-structured interviews, which means that some of the questions were in advance determined, but there is as well the opportunity to continue on a specific subject even when this isn’t part of the question. The interviewer may therefore adapt or add to existing questions (Remington & Tyrer, 1979). I made use of a general template for the interviews. However, as every organization had a different program, I adjusted some of the questions in advance. The general template is added in Appendix 2.

The majority of interviews were held at the offices of the NGOs, most of them located in Beirut. One interview was held in Akkar, 12km away from the Syrian border in a house owned by the organization Relief and Reconciliation for Syria. Another interview was held in Shatilah, a refugee ‘camp’ located in Beirut. As this was a very unsafe place for me to visit, this

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interview was the shortest of them all. I wasn’t able to record this interview either. All my other interviews were recorded, of course after consent of the interviewee. The interview with the Syrian ladies was held in the South of Lebanon, a two hour drive up in the hills to a place called Ketermaya. For this interview, 16 Syrian women were willing to answer my questions. All the interviews took between half an hour and an hour. Five out of six interviews with the organizations were held in English, for the interview with the organization Basmeh & Zeitooneh I needed a translator. The interview with the Syrian women in Ketermaya was held in Arabic, therefore I needed a translator2_{as well.}

One interview was different from the others. As I visited several events organized by the Dutch Embassy, I met many interesting people. One of the persons I met was Rateb Atassi, Program officer of the National Agenda for the Future of Syria at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA). As we met during an informal occasion, I wasn’t able to ask him questions. We tried to arrange a meeting later on, but due to agenda incompatibilities and time we weren’t able to meet again. Therefore I sent him an email with questions, which he answered. The disadvantage of such a way of interviewing was that I weren’t able to ask immediately further on a specific topic. However, the answers he gave me were very suitable for my research as I want to include a vision on the role of women in the rebuilding process of Syria of a person who is working on the future of Syria.

As I was accepted as Research Affiliate at the Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC), part of the Notre Dame University (NDU) in Louaize, I could make use of the facilities offered by the center. I had my own desk and could make use of a computer, however I brought my own laptop. I could make use of the internet offered by the center and had access to its resource center as well. Therefore I found very interesting articles suitable for my research which I wouldn’t have found myself. Every time I use such a source in this research, I mention this explicitly in the references.

2_{For the interview with the Syrian women, I needed a translator who was fluent in Arabic. As I was accepted as}

a research affiliate at LERC, I could ask one of the interns to translate for me for a small fee. My translator was fluent in Arabic, French and English and was of great assistance. The translator that helped me out with the interview at Basmeh & Zeitooneh was my driver, which was as well a good friend of mine. He is as well fluent in English and Arabic.

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All the interviews have been worked out on paper in order to read what has been said. I didn’t transcribed the interviews, although I tried to write down the exact words that have been said. The level of English is very high in Lebanon and among the persons I have interviewed, however some sentences needed to be adjusted in order to make them correct and understandable. I made use of Windows Media Player to work out the interviews. For the interview that couldn’t be recorded, I made use of notes in a small notebook, which I always had with me to write down thoughts and observations. Once all the interviews were on paper, I could easily compare and select the gathered information with the existing theory, elaborated in the following chapters. I decided not to add the interviews in the appendix.

4.5 Considerations and Limitations

I have conducted research in Lebanon from October 22 till November 28 of 2016. However, only from the third week on I was able to interview organizations. In the first two weeks I adjusted my topic and I was a speaker at a forum, therefore I wasn’t able to conduct research yet. In the third, fourth and fifth week I held the interviews. Although I didn’t make the best use of my time in Lebanon for the research, it was perfect for me personally as the forum gave me a lot of confidence and insights for the research.

The interviews that were held in Arabic had to be translated, so there might have been some words or sentences gone lost during the translation process. I have taken into account that the translation from Arabic to English might be slightly different, however I trust the expertise of both translators so I assume that no valuable information has been lost. Still, the translator who was with me during the interview with the Syrian ladies had sometimes a hard time to follow up on everything that was said, as some women were speaking disorderly. For this interview I have taken in consideration as well that not every women was agreeing with everything what has been said. Three women were very extrovert, resulting that some women didn’t dare to speak up for themselves. Therefore I decided to ask questions whereby the women could raise their hands if they were agreeing with the statement. Nevertheless, I still noticed that all the women were either or in favor or against a statement, so I believe that not

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every woman was speaking for herself due to peer pressure. If there would have been more time, I would interviewed the women one by one. This was unfortunately not possible.

For this thesis I have made use of a qualitative research method. A disadvantage of this approach is generalization (Bryman, 2002). I have interviewed a small amount of organizations and refugee women, on which I apply a complete theory. To conclude my findings, generalization is inevitable. I believe that sufficient interviews have been held for this thesis, but for future research on this topic more organizations and refugee women should be used. This research focuses solely on Lebanon, and brings new knowledge to the topic of women empowerment and the role of NGOs. These findings can’t be used in other context, as Lebanon has specific characteristics which cannot be applied to other developing countries. Nevertheless, I believe that my research can be a starting point for further research in developing countries to investigate to what extent NGOs and the way they are funded influence women’s empowerment.

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5. Organizations set up for women’s empowerment in Lebanon and

their funding

In this section, I would like to investigate what kind of organizations have been set up in Lebanon for the development of Syrian women and by who these organizations are supported. As described in the theoretical framework, aid organizations arise when a sudden amount of refugees enter the host country (Massey et al., 1993). As aid organizations are a very broad concept, I would like to make use of NGOs as aid organizations for my research. The term NGO is an umbrella term as it upholds different forms of organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development (Malena, 1995, p.13). Therefore I would like to make use of NGOs that have arisen since the arrival of or have received special funding for the Syrian refugee population in Lebanon.

As stated in the definition of a NGO, they are non-profit organizations which are independent from any government (Malena, 1995). However, NGOs need funding in order to survive, therefore depending on donations of businesses, private sources and as well governments. All or some of these funders can have an indirect or direct political influence on the actions and decisions that NGOs make (Shah, 2005). In fact, NGOs that receive aid or even depending of aid are the rule rather than the exception, according to Robbins (2002). I would like to investigate who these donors of aid are in Lebanon, as these donors may affect the outcomes of the programs used in this research.

5.1 Non-governmental organizations in Lebanon

Lebanon has many similar characteristics with other small countries in the South, such as for example a fragile democracy and a developing economy (AbouAssi & Trent, 2016). However, the NGO sector is way more dynamic than similar countries due to the state’s sociopolitical milieu and weak public service system, making NGOs in general responsible for service provision (AbouAssi, 2015). These factors allow NGOs to operate in all domains and aspects of public life. The central government intervenes less than other countries of the MENA region, so funding can be done more easily as prior notification or approval is not required

The role of non-governmental organizations in the empowerment process of Syrian refugee women : a case study in Lebanon