I N T E R N AT I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T R E S E A R C H C E N T R E

Education, Income,VoiceIDRC has supported poor women in develop-ing countries in their efforts to learn, to earn,and to take part in local decision-making. Uni-versity degrees and decent jobs make it easierfor women to speak up and demand theirrights as full citizens.

Blending old and new technologiesThe champion and catalyst for improvingargan oil production techniques and forlaunching many women’s cooperatives isZoubida Charrouf, a chemistry professorat Mohammed V University. With a four-year research grant from IDRC (1998–2002), she worked in collaboration withthe Ibn Albaytar Association — which promotes medicinal plant species — todevelop and improve argan oil productionand business management.Thanks to this research, some of the

tedious production tasks, such as grind-ing the nuts and pressing the oil, weremechanized. This not only sped up theoperation, but also improved the qualityof the oil, doubled its shelf life, andreduced waste.

From problem to opportunityCharrouf’s initial interest in the argan treewas largely environmental: how to protectan endangered tree unique to her country, aspecies long considered a “green curtain”against the desert. “At the time, we were los-ing more than 600 hectares of argan foresteach year. But,” she says, “we also wanted toconvert this ecological problem into an eco-nomic opportunity.”

Before approaching IDRC, says Charrouf, “I knocked at several doors, butno one believed in my project. Eventhough IDRC didn’t fund all the work, itdid support the basic link in the chain,”she explains. “Now argan oil is knownaround the world. If there hadn’t beenthat initial work supported by IDRC, Idon’t think we would have advanced tothe point where we are now.” Membership in the cooperatives ranges

from 35 to 40 women. A dramatic benefitfor these members is that they now earnabout �6 a day (CA$8.60) — more than 10times their income a few years ago.Today, Moroccan argan oil is a high-

value niche product on the internationalmarket. In April 2009 it was certifiedinternationally as a Protected Geographi-cal Indication product, a labelling systemset up the European Union, making it thefirst product on the African continent toreceive such protection.

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New technology in argan oil production has improved women’s lives and incomes in Morocco.

IDRCImproving women’s lives

LASTING IMPACTSHow IDRC-funded research has improvedlives in the developing world

In the last two decades, decentralization ofpower and responsibilities from nationalto local levels has changed the face of gov-ernments around the globe. It has alsogiven women new opportunities to partic-ipate in local politics and decision-making.Although formidable challenges

remain, research supported by IDRC inAsia, Latin America, and Africa is showinghow women are gaining access to and par-ticipating in public decision-making —and how that process could be improved.The studies have found a range of expe-

riences and viewpoints. For example,

a female district council member in Pakistan says, “The local government sys-tem is very good…Women are allowed tohave opportunities to work through thissystem, to come out of their houses andwork among and along with men.” At thesame time, a woman in Nigeria complains,“I went for councillorship in my own wardand discovered that in these things womenare men’s followers. Whatever music theyplay, women have to follow and dance tothe music. Everything is manipulated,hijacked, and handled by men.”

An IDRC-supported fund in Lebanonhas helped 123 Palestinian women obtaina university degree and escape frompoverty. The Scholarship Fund for Pales-tinian Refugee Women in Lebanon,launched in 2000, has funded 221 stu-dents, 123 of whom have graduated. “I would never have gone to univer-

sity without the scholarship. It turned mylife around,” says Lara Jabbour Saman, achemistry graduate now employed as ateacher and school administrator. A companion to IDRC’s research

work in support of a resolution to the

refugee issue, the scholarship aims toimprove daily conditions in the interim.It has attracted funding also from theCanadian International DevelopmentAgency, OPEC, Qatar, the United States,France, and Spain. The scholarship has improved job

prospects for women like Iman Sanhan,now an acting financial officer for an inter-national agency. But she says educationmeans more than that: “It enriches you indifferent ways, gives you more knowledge,and makes you a stronger person.”

A website is helping Southeast Asianwomen earn an income and balance theirwork and home lives. Called eHomemak-ers, it is Southeast Asia’s only communitynetwork that promotes the use of informa-tion and communication technologies totelework and run small home businesses.eHomemakers started life as “Mothers

for Mothers,” an informal group launchedin Malaysia in 1998 by Chong SheauChing, founder and chief executive officer

of eHomemakers. With IDRC support,she and colleagues explored how informa-tion technologies, from mobile phones tothe Internet, could be harnessed to helppoor, isolated women working at home.One outcome: a Chinese, English, and

Malay language website through whichthe now more than 17,000 members shareinformation, organize activities, advertiseproducts and services, and more.

About Canada’s International Development Research CentreIDRC supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bringchoice and change to those who need it most.

www.idrc.caRead more about the lasting impacts of IDRC-funded research @ www.idrc.ca/lastingimpacts.

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Giving women a voice in government

Scholarships bring hope to poor Palestinian women

Technology helps Asian women balance family and work

Decentralization has given women newopportunities to participate in local politics.

Scholarship fund opens door to opportunitiesand job prospects for Palestinian women.

New technologies, from mobile phones tothe Internet, are connecting women home-workers in Southeast Asia.

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