2025/07/25 by Nermin Allam · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Socioeconomic Development in MENA #Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts #Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/13510347.2025.2524854
openalex publication_date 2025/07/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
How do state-led reform, that are designed to maintain control or bolster legitimacy inadvertently democratize social structures, such as gender norms? Using the case of women recipients of King Abdullah Scholarship Programme in Saudi Arabia, the study investigates how women, situated in between activism and patronage, challenge the gender logic that underpin state reforms and introduce shifts in gender norms within their families. The study is situated within the literature on authoritarianism and social nonmovements, and uses data from interviews, formal reports, media coverage, and official statements. The analysis shows that while the mahram requirement, which mandated male guardianship for women’s participation, aimed to control women and uphold traditional norms, it led to renegotiations of gender dynamics. The findings demonstrate how the unintended actions by subaltern groups and state-empowered intermediaries can drive incremental reforms under autocratic regimes. The article contributes to the scholarship on authoritarianism, gender reform, and democratization. It offers new insights into how state-led initiatives can produce unintended changes and transformations.