Is the International Feminist Movement Improving Equity or Imposing Colonial Practices? Examining International Philanthropy in Liberian Civil Society

• In Event: Feminist Perspectives and Social Work

Abstract

Women are experiencing increasing levels of sexual and gender-based violence, a phenomenon observed exponentially during COVID-19 due to restricted mobility and extensive periods with abusers during lockdowns (Nabukeera, 2020; Uzobo & Ayinmoro, 2021). Though governments tout their commitment to ending violence against women, state-sponsored interventions are vague and inconsistent. Therefore, the burden falls upon civil society, as seen with the success of women’s organizations in the Liberian Women’s Peace Building Movement (Garnett & Roversi, 2023).

Scholarship portrays civil society as a powerful force for implementing human services and increasing active and passive political participation (LeRoux & Krawczyk, 2012; Krawczyk & Sweet-Cushman, 2017; Lundåsen, 2015). Civil society is the “connective tissue” that connects public and private sectors and international and local actors (Balboa, 2018). Furthermore, civil society is recognized as an incubator for gender justice transnationally and at the grassroots (Jasor, 2021).

However, in developing contexts like Liberia, issues endemic to the third sector may prevent civil society from facilitating gender justice. First, civil society relies almost exclusively on international funding, which promotes an unbalanced relationship between funders and civil society organizations (CSOs), encouraging CSOs to shift their mission and strategy based on donor preferences (Krawczyk, 2018). Najam (1996) and Ebrahim (2003) illuminate dysfunctional power dynamics between donors from the Global North and CSO recipients of the Global South, citing upward accountability and supply-side philanthropy as obstructing meaningful progress. Civil society interventions are only effective if they produce an organic outcome and response within a local context (Edwards & Hulme, 1996). Otherwise, foreign influences may demand accountability practices that hinder productivity and effectiveness (Ebrahim, 2005). Further, these impositions remove uniquely African solutions, undervalue African philanthropy, and further colonial ideals (Obadare & Krawczyk, 2021).

Second, Liberian CSOs also wrestle with a lack of capacity, prohibiting their effectiveness. While they express strengths in strategic planning, awareness creation, and advocacy, they need help acquiring adequate and sustainable funding, training and retaining staff, and networking (Weber et al., 2023). Trust-based donor practices, like participatory grantmaking, offer possible solutions to these context-specific demands.

The challenges faced by the Liberian third sector prompt us to ask: In a time of increased awareness of gender justice, are international donors prioritizing what is needed at the grassroots to promote gender equity, such as sustainable, unrestricted funding? Are they answering civil society's call to relinquish purse strings or giving conditionally based on their removed perspectives and preferences? Finally, are interventions created by these partnerships between CSOs and international donors producing meaningful policy outcomes? This study aims to answer these questions by investigating the philanthropic practices of international donors and comparing them to the actual articulated needs of gender-based advocacy organizations in Liberian civil society.

Using a qualitative research design and inductive approach, I include eight case studies composed of four grassroots, gender-based CSOs, and four international donor agencies. Interviews with an employee from each organization inform funding practices and organizational priorities and needs. Responses will reveal accountability requirements, application of participatory grantmaking, and nuanced power dynamics between donors and CSOs.

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Author

• Brittany Branyon