SDDirect provided technical assistance to Al Murunah, part of the FCDO’s flagship Middle East and North Africa climate programme, PHENOMENAL. In response to evidence that gender-based violence (GBV) limited women’s participation in project activities and weakened household resilience to climate shocks, the programme introduced the Al Murunah+ gender-transformative pilots. SDDirect supported the design, implementation and evaluation of four pilots in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine, embedded within broader nature-based water management initiatives. The pilots aimed to strengthen household resilience by challenging harmful gender norms while increasing women’s participation in climate-resilient agricultural livelihoods through interventions targeting women, couples and community leaders.
Al Murunah+ received technical support from SDDirect’s GBV specialists through the Ending Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) Helpdesk to ensure the safe and effective integration of violence prevention into climate resilience programming. The programme adapted the Economic and Social Empowerment (EA$E) curriculum, combining couples’ discussion groups, economic skills training and asset transfers, and engagement with community leaders to strengthen communication, joint decision-making, women’s participation in water management and sustainable livelihoods, and reduce the acceptance of violence.
SDDirect, in partnership with Social Dynamics Research Group, is also conducting the baseline and endline evaluation of Al Murunah+. Using a theory-based, qualitative and longitudinal methodology, the evaluation examines whether the pilots reduce intimate partner violence, shift harmful gender norms, strengthen women's participation in climate-resilient livelihoods and enhance household resilience to climate shocks. The baseline phase included 223 interviews, 18 workshops and an analysis of 87 documents. Findings highlight how gender inequality constrains adaptive capacity and resilience and underscore the importance of women's agency and decision-making in strengthening household resilience to climate shocks.
