Despite government claims of significant victories against Boko Haram, abductions and violence against women in northern Nigeria persist, highlighting inadequate protective measures. Patriarchal structures and societal stigmas exacerbate women’s vulnerabilities, with Boko Haram exploiting these inequalities to further its extremist agenda.

In the township of Gamboru Ngala, in northern Nigeria, most women fear being abducted by Boko Haram insurgents. Abductions have remained a serious issue in northern Nigeria since 2009, despite the government announcing that 95 percent of Boko Haram fighters have either died or surrendered. Since abductions are still occurring, why hasn’t the government taken more assertive actions to protect women in northern Nigeria from Boko Haram?

Who are Boko Haram?

Boko Haram was founded by Yusuf Mohammed, a radical Islamic cleric in Nigeria, who condemned “Western civilisation” as a manifestation of imperialism, which had obstructed the dissemination of Muslim knowledge and history. This group sees Jihad—wars waged to promote Islam—as the appropriate means to protect its interests, which includes establishing Islamic rule in northern Nigeria. Boko Haram adopts the Salafist doctrine, a more devout version of Islam with the implementation of Sharia law. Salafism is the belief that the most genuine version of Islam is embodied in the practices of the initial virtuous generations of Muslims, known as the Salaf, who were close to the Prophet Muhammad. Boko Haram considers anyone who does not follow their beliefs as non-believers, and therefore traitors to the true religion. To these ends, the group, from 2011-2013, undertook deadly guerilla attacks in Nigeria using firearms and suicide bombings. The targets of their attacks have, for the most part, been women and children.

Since 2009, women and girls have been victims of severe forms of abuse including abductions, sexual slavery, coerced marriages, sexual violence, coerced pregnancies, and religious conversions—all enforced by Boko Haram. In 2014, in Chibok, women and girls were used as hostages in demands to release Boko Haram commanders who were being held by the Nigerian authorities. Some were even forced to become suicide bombers. One such victim was Zahra’u Babangida, who was forced by to don an explosive vest with the aim of killing innocents in a terrorist attack. The explosives were strapped to her body, though fortunately she was arrested in Kano before they could be detonated. Authorities later discovered that she was to be involved in a double suicide bombing in a Kantin Kwari market.

Zahra’u claimed that she was compelled into the attempt because of the death threats issued by the insurgent group. However, and perhaps the most insidious component of this tragic event, her parents were sympathisers of Boko Haram leading her to believe that she could not turn to them for help.

Such experiences, widespread in Northern Nigeria, have caused many to discontinue their education because of the fear of abduction. This is a form of psychological warfare, where the constant threat of rape, forced marriage, and sexual violence, has terrorised women and has, indirectly, undermined the morale of government forces and civilian populations. This warfare has ultimately facilitated the expansion of their power, territorial control, and contributed to broader societal destabilisation.

The role of patriarchy

Patriarchal structures in Nigeria have played an important role in facilitating the ongoing difficulties authorities have in addressing the challenges of Boko Haram. Cultural and religious practices limit the role of women to traditional roles—like housewives, caregivers, and child bearers. In this context, men rule to the detriment of women inclusion. This restricts access to economic opportunities, education, property ownership, social recognition, inheritance, and many other opportunities, ultimately making women highly dependent on their male counterparts. In turn, this increases their vulnerability and enforces the perception of women as being weak. Such perceptions have played a part in the political violence committed by Boko Haram, who see women as easy targets.

Such patriarchies, along with the threat of abduction, rape, and forced marriage, represents a double challenge for Nigerian women. Research by UNICEF shows that women and girls who have managed to escape Boko Haram, albeit with the children whom they were forced to give birth to, are often met with “deep suspicion,” due to suspicions that they continue to harbour sympathies for Boko Haram. Part of this suspicion includes the perception that the girls have given birth to “dangerous” children. Additional challenges include the perception that the women are partly responsible for their violence and suffering. This stigma arises from such norms that prioritise social purity and honour over empathy and support for victims. This rejection leaves the victims with few options, and increases the risk of them being re-recruited by Boko Haram.

Economic opportunities in this complicated and unequal configuration of circumstances are few and more than likely to contribute to reinforced structural inequalities. Women in Nigeria long for economic independence—a point that Boko Haram takes advantage of by recruiting female labourers to spread its political cause of an “authentic” version of Islam. By offering false promises of equal economic opportunity, Boko Haram employs women to disseminate their political narrateive and recruit more members. In this way, existing patriarchal values and norms contribute to the very circumstances that are exploited by Boko Haram to further its cause.

Conclusion

Without further support from the government to combat such violence, Nigeria’s women and girls will continue to face terrible tradeoffs between leaving their homes for safer locations, often far away, or risking abduction. More than this, Boko Haram will continue to spread terror and destabilise society while expanding its extremist agenda.

A positive development is the National Action Plan (NAP) (2024-2028) that aims to address some of the limitations faced by women, by including measures like ending all forms of discrimination against women and adopting legislation that promotes gender inequality and women empowerment. The NAP also involves reducing socioeconomic inequalities by including measures like increasing women’s political participation and adopting reforms that will give women equal access to land ownership, economic resources, inheritance, and more. However, such development will only be successful if steps are taken to properly execute these measures so that women can be self-reliant .

Furthermore, enhanced collaboration between federal and state authorities is imperative to make a strategy that would help enhance the nation’s security and help protect civilians from Boko Haram’s terror. Collaborating with NGOs to educate people about Boko Haram’s violence could also help prevent parents from willingly giving their children to the insurgents. Finally, security can be tightened in vulnerable areas like schools and refugee camps to enhance the safety of girls and women in northern Nigeria.

Anshul Bajaj is pursuing a masters in international relations at Australian National University, Canberra. She is a former intern with the Australian Institute for International Affairs.

This article is published under a Creative Commons License and may be republished with attribution.