When working in environments where cultural or religious opposition to women's empowerment is comparatively strong, do donors and international agencies (e.g., UN Women, ILO, UNDP) adopt a more conservative tack or charge ahead? In either case, do they run into government opposition and how is this manifested? Are they able to stay below the radar and achieve progress on the ground or, conversely, do they purposely adopt a proactive stance as a way to affect government perceptions of gender and the value of women's empowerment? Do they adopt coping strategies such as focusing on less controversial issues, such as education and employment or selecting politically powerful CSOs as partners?

I have a student working on a thesis on this topic relating to a specific situation in the Middle East and we are not finding much research on donor strategies (as opposed to either a) self-serving promotional pieces on gender programs or b) discussions of women's status in the region. None of these address the question above, however.

I'm looking for references but will also take opinions expressed by professionals or academics working in this area.