This thematic report sheds light on the agricultural cooperatives and gender, in Lebanon, Iraq, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In these countries violent conflict resulted in a deficit in all forms of security, especially in rural areas, where the state outreach is often more limited. The report questions the reality and role of cooperatives in empowering rural women in conflict settings, where women witness changing roles, for instance many of them start heading their households, and become the breadwinners.The report also mentions the obstacles and challenges which cooperatives face in the Arab countries, and ways of enhancing and sustaining them.