Feminism and Neoliberalism: Women Farmers Rewriting a Gendered Land Tenure Reform in Sidi Kacem

Abstract

This paper addresses the collective land tenure reforms of 2019, specifically from the perspective of local women farmers in the Moroccan  Gharb region. One of the questions the paper seeks to answer is how the rhetoric of “women’s rights” interacts with, resists,  or supports neoliberal land tenure reforms. This paper relies on participant observation of classes attended by local women farmers  about these new land tenure reform laws and policies as well as in-depth interviews with women farmers. The focus is on how a global  and local corporate agenda is being implemented, and how it is creating a mainstream discourse on “women’s rights” and “gender  inclusion”. The paper explores how local women farmers are negotiating with dominant land tenure policies and feminist rhetoric staged  by the government, donors, and women’s rights NGOs regarding the representation of women’s land rights.