Exploring empowerment and gender relations in a sport for development program in Papua New Guinea

There is a growing body of research that has started to carefully consider the increased presence of girls and women in sport-fordevelopment (SFD). The purpose of this study was to contribute to contextual understandings of empowerment by providing a nuanced reading of micro-level interactions that can disrupt traditional gendered relations. Our research explored the emerging outcomes of a SFD program in Papua New Guinea targeted at young women. We hope to foster a greater understanding of women's experiences in constrained sociocultural contexts and make sense of the lived reality of doing sport-based development work. The results of our qualitative work demonstrate the importance of exploring nuanced, relational, and embodied processes occurring in day-to-day situations that can lead to transformative change in localized settings.