In the 21st century, we still live in a world where gender norms go unquestioned and dramatic injustices continue. Yet, legislative protections and measures to address these gaps are often missing. Green Forum, together with Malagasy civil society organisations, and gender equality experts, has created an experiment to challenge this script: The Gender Reverse Bootcamp.

The Intervention

The Gender Reverse Bootcamp is a one-week experiment in which the participants step into reversed gender roles. For example, men take on domestic work and caregiving, while women assume power, control, and resource management roles. This process provokes experiential learning as well as empathy, reflection, and transformation. In addition to the lived reality, the participants explore inequality and inclusion in the “gender and politics” part.

In 2022, Green Forum supported young adults in developing a youth wing for a Malagasy political party. Following the bootcamp template, Green Forum set up a Gender Reverse Bootcamp, together with “Women break the silence” and “Women Brigades”. Twenty young adults – 10 women and 10 men – went through this intense training.

Lasting Changes

Often, measuring the real-life impact of such interventions can be difficult. Unfortunately, just a few weeks after the bootcamp, the participants faced a real-life gender-based violence incident. However, their learnings from the bootcamp empowered them to push for structural reforms. Consequently, they created a whistleblower protection policy, an observatory, and anti-gender-based violence measures in the party regulations. Likewise, during the bootcamp itself the participants developed a proposal for legal reforms including LGBTQA+ inclusion. Sadly, the latter is heavily tabooed in most sub-Saharan countries.

Altogether, the Gender Reverse Bootcamp is more than just a workshop. It challenges norms, builds empathy, and teaches political actors (how) to fight for gender equality. The camp demonstrates how scientific research, political will, and creative pedagogy create lasting change.