1325 at the Grassroots: Women’s Responses Facing Climate Insecurity
As rural communities worldwide increasingly grapple with the compounding challenges of insecurity and climate change, this research project focuses on the complex intersection of gender, climate change, and insecurity in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The study investigates how women in rural communities, impacted by both climate change and insecurity, respond to these pressures, and how their actions influence evolving gender roles within their communities.
This project introduces a novel approach by moving beyond the traditional focus on the "impacts on" women to explore their active agency—how they respond to and navigate the challenges they face. By centering on women’s agency, the research makes a significant contribution to FBA’s work in the Women, Peace, and Security agenda and provides valuable insights to inform work under Sweden's Strategy for Development Cooperation with the DRC.
Approved in 2023, this multi-year qualitative research initiative is set to conclude in 2026 and involves in-depth fieldwork within affected communities. The project is led by Dr. Johanna Malm, Head of Research at FBA and the research team comprises Dr. Marie-Rose Bashwira, Professor at Université Catholique de Bukavu, and Ali Bitenga, PhD Candidate at Université Catholique de Louvain.
Results from the project have been published in a FBA Research Report, and peer review articles are forthcoming.
The research team
Johanna Malm, Head of Research at FBA
As Head of Research at FBA, Johanna is responsible for FBA’s evidence-based approach. Johanna manages FBA’s Research Team, tasked with supporting research uptake across the agency. Johanna is also Principal Investigator for the FBA Research Project “1325 at the Grassroots: Women’s Responses Facing Climate Insecurity” (2023-2026), the results of which are partly presented in this report. Johanna combines expertise in empirical research, development practice, management and steering, having worked as researcher at the Universities of Stellenbosch and Roskilde, Project Manager for FBA’s assignment in DR Congo, Senior Auditor at the Swedish National Audit Office and Policy Advisor on Business and Human Rights at the NGO Diakonia. Johanna Malm holds a PhD in International Development Studies from Roskilde University in Denmark.
Ali Bitenga, PhD Candidate at Université Catholique de Louvain
As a PhD candidate in Anthropology, Ali was awarded the renowned Belgian FNRS scholarship in 2025 to support his ethnographic research on gender-based violence in Uganda and eastern DRC. He has previously held multiple research positions in Africa’s Great Lakes region, including National Research Coordinator for Informed International in the DRC, Research Coordinator for the International Center for Advanced Research and Training affiliated with Panzi Hospital in eastern DRC, and lecturer at the Evangelical University in Africa. Ali’s work has informed both academic and policy discussions, and he has presented at conferences across Africa, Europe, and the United States, engaging with scholars as well as with policymakers, including at the United Nations and the European Union Parliament.
Marie-Rose Bashwira, Professor at Université Catholique de Bukavu
Marie-Rose teaches classes on entrepreneurship, management, microfinance, environment, gender, natural resources management, and rural development. Marie-Rose is also the General Director of Institut Supérieur d’Informatique et de Gestion (ISIG-Goma). She is a researcher at the Research and Expertise on Gender and Development (CREGED) and at CEGEMI-UCB (Centre d’Expertise en Gestion Minière). Originally from the DRC, Marie-Rose graduated in 2017 with a PhD from Wageningen University funded by WOTRO-NOW (Netherlands Science Foundation). Her PhD research focused on gender and mining reforms in the DRC. She then spent three years (2017-2020) in a postdoctoral fellowship at Erasmus University at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS).