Participants or Recipients? Negotiating Gender and Energy as Empowerment in the Displaced Setting

Despite progress on measures to improve gender equality, women and young girls are disproportionately impacted by humanitarian crises. In addition to increased exposure and risk of sexual violence, displaced women and young girls must contend with inequality in accessing information, decision-making and economic opportunities at local and governmental levels. Energy interventions can be instrumental in reducing inequities, but energy use and access is also highly gendered in the displaced context. Drawing upon empirical research of the experiences of Congolese refugees in Rwanda and internally displaced people in Nepal, this chapter will explore to what extent improved energy access benefits men and women equally. Discussing how women and young girls negotiate gender and energy could shift the narrative regarding refugees, particularly women and young people, from recipients to participants in energy planning, procurement, and delivery.