ECRs in conversation with Dr Maryam Ebrahimi and Dr Hania Sholkamy: Gender-sensitive Social Protection, A Possible Reality in the MENA?

In this podcast, Tamara A. Kool, our ECR Representative, speaks
to Dr Maryam Ebrahimi (Iran) and Dr Hania Sholkamy (Egypt) to
discuss what aspects should inform future directions in terms of
gender-sensitive social protection in the MENA.  The MENA
region is characterised by low female labour force participation
rates. While generally agreed that social protection is key to
promoting women’s economic empowerment in the region,
gender-sensitive social protection is a multifaceted concept. The
way a programme is politically supported, designed, and
programmatically implemented all influence the outcomes. We,
therefore, need to understand to what extent social protection
schemes are cognisant of the lived experiences of individuals.
This requires a critical look at both social assistance and
social insurance schemes to understand to what extent existing
schemes are able to cover risks across the life cycle accounting
for the different roles that men and women take up in society.


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Dr Hania Sholkamy is an Egyptian anthropologist (PhD from the
London School of Economics and Political Sciences, The University
of London). Her work has focused on gender, health and social
protection in Egypt. She designed and piloted the cash transfer
programs of the government of Egypt in her capacity as special
advisor to the minister of social solidarity. She is a proponent
of feminist social protection and has lobbied for the right of
women to receive welfare and pensions in their own right and not
as dependents. She was regional coordinator of the “Pathways to
Women’s Empowerment Research Consortium” in partnership with the
Institute of Development Studies at Sussex, UK. She is currently
a member of the UNESCO Management of Social Transformations
Committee (2019-2022.)  


Dr Maryam Ebrahimi holds a PhD in Social Welfare from Allameh
Tabataba’i University in Tehran, Iran. Her PhD thesis focused on
‘Gender Analysis of Social Policy in Iran and analysis of gender
orientations in employment, education and social security
legislation in Iran. In addition, she has undertaken a number of
research and has presented several papers on women, family and
gender issues. Her main areas of interest include social
protection, gender, social exclusion, labour policies and
informal workers.


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This episode is part of the podcast series organised in the
framework of MENASP’s Early Career Researchers initiative. The
ECR MENASP podcast series aims to discuss relevant social
policies related to topics that are current and relevant to the
region.


Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the MENASP podcasts are
those of the invited speakers. They do not purport to reflect the
opinions or views of the Middle East and North Africa Social
Policy (MENASP) Network or the University of Bath.