Gender paradigms and women's empowerment in rural Morocco

This article examines the evolution of gender and development paradigms in Morocco, from Women in Development (WID) and Women and Development (WAD) to Gender and Development (GAD) and empowerment approaches, to assess their capacity to address structural inequalities and gendered power relations. The study uses documentary evidence to examine how international gender frameworks have been interpreted and translated into specific socio-cultural, institutional, and territorial contexts. Despite significant policy advances and the progressive alignment of national policies with international gender frameworks, persistent inequalities continue to constrain women's access to land, productive resources, markets, and decision-making structures. Policy implementation remains constrained by institutional, socio-economic, and territorial factors, creating an implementation gap whereby many initiatives expand opportunities for women's economic and social inclusion in rural Morocco without leading to empowerment. Empowerment is best understood as a multidimensional process involving agency, collective action, social recognition, and the transformation of power relations.