Whose feminism(s)? Overseas partner organizations’ perceptions of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy
| Author | Rebecca Tiessen,Sheila Rao |
| Published date | 01 September 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702020960120 |
| Date | 01 September 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Scholarly Essay |
Scholarly Essay
International Journal
Whose feminism(s)?
2020, Vol. 75(3) 349–366
! The Author(s) 2020
Overseas partner
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702020960120
perceptions of Canada’s
journals.sagepub.com/home/ijx
Feminist International
Assistance Policy
Sheila Rao
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton
University, Ottawa, Canada
Rebecca Tiessen
School of International Development and Global Studies,
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, introduced in 2017, is an ambitious
and forward-thinking policy focussed on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The emphasis on a feminist vision, however, raises questions about how feminism is
defined and interpreted by Canada’s partners in the Global South. In this article, we
examine the interpretations of feminism(s) and a feminist foreign policy from the per-
spective of NGO staff members in East and Southern Africa. The research involved
interviews with 45 Global South partner country NGO staff members in three coun-
tries (Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi). We consider the partner organization reflections on
Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy using a transnational feminist lens.
Our findings provide insights into future considerations for Canada’s feminist foreign
policy priorities, consultations, and programme design.
Corresponding author:
Rebecca Tiessen, School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa, International
Development and Global Studies, 120 University Private, Social Sciences Building, Room 8005, Ottawa,
Ontario K1N6N5, Canada
Email: rtiessen@uottawa.ca
350
International Journal 75(3)
Keywords
Feminist foreign assistance policy, partnerships, gender equality, Canadian Aid
Since the introduction and launch of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance
Policy (FIAP), development actors have analyzed the significance of the policy for
current and future aid investments and policy implementation processes. Canada’s
FIAP outlines a “targeted approach to gender equality that allows a focus on the
initiatives that fight poverty and inequality by supporting gender equality and
defending the rights of women and girls, particularly their sexual health and repro-
ductive rights.”1 Using a rights-based approach to development, the FIAP’s pri-
orities include climate change, peace and security, inclusive governance, and
human dignity. The policy describes specific sector targets as well. The FIAP
aims to strengthen access to quality health services and education opportunities
and nutritional options that better address the particular needs of women and
girls.2 Women’s leadership in environment and climate action is prioritized, and
this theme includes introducing economic opportunities for women in clean
energy. All these measures are aimed at contributing to broader social and eco-
nomic issues including: stronger economic growth, reduction of instances of
extreme poverty, reduction of chronic hunger, and longer-lasting peace that bene-
fits entire families.3 Some scholars, policy experts, and development practitioners
applauded the policy for building on the existing work of the Canadian govern-
ment and civil society organizations to centre development challenges around
gender equality and women’s empowerment. Canada’s NGO community has indi-
cated a high level of support for Canada’s FIAP. For example, CARE Canada
reports that the FIAP is “bringing attention to previously neglected areas, includ-
ing adolescent sexual health, sexual and gender-based violence and sexual violence,
placing LGBTQ2 rights firmly as a development issue.”4 The Canadian Council
for International Cooperation also sees the FIAP as a welcome support to the
ongoing work of their members, especially through specific funding targets and
including “gender equality and women’s empowerment” as a core action and as a
1.
Government of Canada, “Feminist International Assistance Policy,” Government of Canada,
Ottawa, 2017, 18, http://international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpe
ment/priorities-priorites/policy-politique.aspx?lang=eng (accessed September 17, 2020).
2.
Government of Canada, “Feminist International Assistance Policy,” 18.
3.
Ibid., viii.
4.
Marianne Davidson, “Canada’s global feminist leadership matters,” The Hill Times, 4 February,
2019,
https://www.hilltimes.com/2019/02/04/canadas-global-feminist-leadership-matters/186225
(accessed 17 September 2020).
Rao and Tiessen
351
cross-cutting issue.5 Others suggest that the FIAP extends the decades of work by
the Canadian government and represents a return as a global leader in gender
equality.6 The FIAP signals an important step forward to a more comprehensive
feminist foreign policy for Canada. It also marks a significant departure from the
Harper Conservative government, where gender equality was erased from
Canada’s policy priorities.7
The FIAP’s shortcomings are also widely discussed in academic, policy, and
practitioner circles.8 The general description of feminist approaches to develop-
ment in the FIAP leaves a high level of ambiguity as to how feminism is defined in
the policy document and in practice. In the lead-up to the launch of Canada’s
FIAP, extensive consultations took place between 2016 and 2017 with 15,000 staff
from organizations, including overseas partners based in 65 different countries and
nine in-person events in Canada.9 Since the policy launch in June 2017, questions
remain about how the FIAP will be implemented in the targeted countries and
regions, how feminist interventions will be monitored and evaluated, and whether
partner organizations in the Global South even embrace the language of feminism
and/or understand what is meant by a feminist international assistance policy. In
this paper, we consider how feminism is defined and by whom, and the context in
which power relations and intersectional considerations are mentioned in the
policy. These main critiques of the FIAP and its particular brand of feminism
point to some of the potential limitations for its future effectiveness.10 Data
5. Shannon Kindornay and Fraser Riley-King, “Transforming our world: Canadian perspectives on
the Sustainable Development Goals,” Canadian Coalition for International Cooperation (CCIC),
2016, 2.
6. Rebecca Tiessen, “Gender equality and the ‘two CIDAs’: Successes and setbacks between 1976 and
2013,” in Stephen Brown, Molly den Heyer, and David R. Black, eds., Rethinking Canadian Aid
(Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2016), 195–209; Stephen Brown and Liam Swiss, “Canada’s
International Assistance Policy: Game changer or fig leaf,” in Katherine A.H. Graham and Allan
M. Maslove, eds., How Ottawa Spends, 2017–2018 (Ottawa: Carleton University, 2017), 117–132.
7. See also Rebecca Tiessen, “Gender equality and the two CIDAs,” 195–209; Rebecca Tiessen and
Emma Swan, “Canada’s feminist foreign policy promises: An ambitious agenda for gender equality,
human rights, peace, and security,” in Norman Hillmer and Philippe Lagasse, eds., Justin Trudeau
and Canadian Foreign Policy: Canada Among Nations (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), 187–205.
8. Lyric Thompson and Tara Daniel, “Feminist foreign policy discussion series: Furthering
accountability and centering climate change,” International Center for Research on Women,
Washington, DC, 2019; Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, Oxfam Canada, and Inter
Pares, “A feminist approach to Canada ’s international assistance,” Action Canada, Oxfam
Canada, and Interpares, 2016; “Tackling inequalities in the global economy: Making Canada’s
foreign policy work for women,” Oxfam Canada, Ottawa, 2017; “Pathways for achieving gender
equality through health and its social determinants: Guiding implementation of the Feminist
International Assistance Policy (FIAP), CanWaCH, Ottawa, December 2017, https://www.can
wach.ca/sites/default/files/resources/2018-04/CanWaCH%20Policy%20Brief%20-%20Feminist%
20International%20Assistance%20Policy.pdf (accessed September 2020).
9. Government of Canada, “What we heard: 2016 International assistance review,” Government of
Canada, Ottawa, 2016, https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_
developpement/priorities-priorites/what_we_heard-que_nous_entendu.aspx?lang=eng
(accessed
March 2020).
10. Christoph Zeurcher, “Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy: Can bad policy be well
implemented? (Part 1),” Centre for International Policy Studies, Ottawa, 13 September 2018,
352
International Journal 75(3)
collected from development NGOs and partner organizations that received fund-
ing from Global Affairs Canada based in three East and Southern African coun-
tries point to both converging and diverging perceptions of gender quality,
women’s empowerment, and feminism. Based on the analysis of this data, we
argue that the FIAP’s success can be realized only by re-centring feminism as
transnational and ensuring that a feminist process (which includes diverse voices
and attempts to mitigate unequal power relations) for policy implementation is
securely in place.
The article begins by introducing the policy, and outlining both its key strengths
and critiques. It then integrates a transnational feminist perspective to analyze
both the shortcomings of the policies and its implications for implementation in
the Global South. Through analysis of data collected in 2018 from Malawi, Kenya,
and Uganda, we draw upon varying levels of acceptance and...
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