Tackling Gender Backlash During Crises

Tackling Gender Backlash During Crises

From Connecting Citizens to Science by The SCL Agency

May 30, 2025 · 23 min · Episode 82

About this episode

The episode discusses the anti-feminist backlash during crises and strategies for resistance.

*Show correction - Nay El Rahi is introduced in the episode as a journalist. While she previously worked in journalism, her current role is more accurately described as a Lebanese researcher and activist.* In this opening episode of the mini-series, we explore how moments of crisis—from economic collapse to political instability—create fertile ground for anti-feminist backlash. We hear how patriarchal power is mobilised across contexts and how resisting it requires collective action that cuts across sectors, including health. Co-host Ishrat Jahan is joined by Lebanese researcher and activist Nay El Rahi and Kenyan programme officer Alfred Makabira, who share personal reflections and strategies for countering gender backlash in their own work. In this episode: Ishrat Jahan - Research Fellow at the Centre for Gender and Sexual and Reproductive Health at BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ishrat’s research focuses on the intersection of gender, health, and environmental issues. Ishrat is involved in national and international projects exploring the impact of climate change on women’s health, adaptive practices in marginalised communities, and Global…

People in this episode

Host: Ishrat Jahan

Guests: Nay El Rahi, Alfred Makabira

Topics covered

  • gender backlash
  • crisis
  • patriarchy
  • collective action
  • feminism
  • health

Keywords

  • gender
  • backlash
  • crisis
  • patriarchy
  • activism
  • health
  • feminism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Centre for Gender and Sexual and Reproductive Health, BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health, Lebanese American University, Arab Institute for Women

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