From Theory to Practice: GAD Lessons from Organizations in the Sahel

    When reflecting on the shifting ways development has approached questions surrounding gender--from WID, highlighted by Boserup’s (1970) analysis of women’s role in economic development and promoting their integration into existing structures, to WAD, moving beyond inclusion to critique exploitative capitalist dynamics and global systems (Benería and Sen 1981), and into GAD, pushing farther to demand structural and institutional changes and critiquing gendered power relations (Moser 1993, Kabeer 1994)--I find myself re-examining the assertion that there is a gap between theory and practice, especially when it comes to GAD approaches--and searching for real-world examples.

    Justice and Dignity for Women in the Sahel (JDWS) offers a concrete example of GAD work that could help fill the gap. Founded in 2019 by a Malian woman with lived experience of conflict, JDWS strives to combat gender-based violence and promote women’s rights across the Sahel. Its newest project, piloted in Senegal and in the process of expanding to other areas of the Sahel, serves as a real-world example of a GAD-informed approach, helping to fill the gap between theory and practice. Deenal is a digital platform allowing GBV survivors to report cases confidentially and access holistic support. Case managers link survivors to healthcare, psychological counseling, and legal aid, with the ultimate goal of community reintegration. JDWS then uses anonymized data from the platform for advocacy, turning real-life experiences (maintaining confidentiality) into systemic critique and aiming for institutional reform. 

    Deenal represents a significant departure from WID approaches seeking primarily to “add women and stir” within existing programs. WID approaches, as Boserup (2011) and Rathgeber (1990) show, seek to “add women in” to existing development structures, often through training or employment programs that assume participation alone brings equality. However, this leaves the underlying systems untouched. Survivors of gender-based violence, for example, could be included in programs but would still face the same stigmatizing and bureaucratic institutions that caused harm in the first place. Instead, Deenal reimagines how survivors access and engage with systems of care, shifting responses away from fragmented, bureaucratic, and often re-traumatizing encounters toward dignified, empowering processes that center survivors’ agency. It does not simply invite survivors into preexisting reporting channels; instead, it reimagines the system itself and positioning survivors not as “new participants” in development but as agents whose voices reshape how justice and care are delivered. This resonates with Kabeer’s (1994) argument that development must address the power dynamics embedded in institutions rather than treating women as a homogenous group. This also aligns with Eyben and Napier-Moore’s (2009) call to reclaim “empowerment” as a political process rather than a depoliticized buzzword. JDWS pushes against this trend: empowerment for JDWS means survivors exercise agency in historically disempowering systems, not just become included in them.

    JDWS’s work with Deenal also aligns with postcolonialism and third-world/third-way feminism. Mohanty (2004) warns against homogenizing “Third World women” into a category with universal traits, including universal passive victimhood. Additionally, Spivak (1988) questions whether the subaltern can truly speak and be heard within dominant systems. JDWS’s work resists both concerns. Over 90 percent of its volunteers, including those working on Deenal, are recruited from the communities served; 81 percent of those volunteers are women; over 75% of leadership roles are held by women. This women-led and community-rooted structure reflects postcolonial and third-way feminist values by ensuring culturally-grounded, bottom-up approaches instead of top-down programming. Deenal does not treat survivors as passive victims, but as active participants in reshaping systems of justice and care.

    Deenal, in particular, addresses Spivak’s concern about subaltern voices going ignored. In other GBV reporting systems, survivors are only permitted to speak though bureaucratic processes that can strip away agency, dignity, and present unfortunate cases of re-traumatization. JDWS is aware of this - and aware that because of this system, many survivors do not try to speak or access care. Deenal transforms speaking into a process that is confidential, respected, and backed by holistic care - and becomes a key data point for advocacy for systemic change. Survivors are not only heard, but supported, and their collective voices inform advocacy and policy reform. 

        Taken together, JDWS and Deenal showcase a move in the development space beyond WID and WAD toward GAD and postcolonial approaches that center agency, critique power, and strive for systemic transformation. In doing so, they demonstrate that feminist development is not only theorized in the realm of academia but actively redefined on the ground in the Sahel.

Learn more about JDWS at their website: https://jdwsahel.org/home/

Or visit their social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jdwstchad2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jdw.sahel/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/jdws-tchad-justice-et-dignit%C3%A9-pour-les-femmes-du-sahel/about/

Note for those interested: Justice and Dignity for Women in the Sahel (JDWS) is based in the US with branches across the Sahel. If their work interests you, they’re always looking for remote volunteers to help with advocacy, communications, fundraising, and more. Contact the founder, Aida H. Oualate, at aidaou@jdwsahel.org.