Gender and Conflict in Nigeria: An Analysis of Chibok Women and Children
Usman Muhammad
Department of [Political Science
Kaduna State University
Email: Muhusman2020@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Any peace process that ignores the needs and roles of women is unnatural, and therefore inherently unstable. During post-conflict transitions, the empowerment of women is crucial to re-launching social and economic development. The focus is on women at the receiving end of men’s senseless war, women, like men, are victims and actors in wars and armed conflicts but usually in different ways and different fields. During wars, women participate in new activities and assume new roles, often taking on more responsibilities. Despite these changes, women are often marginalized in post-conflict peace building, both in the societies and emerging from conflict, and in the formulation and implementation of peace and peace-building strategies by international peace operatives. (Norwegian institute of international Affairs, 2001). The CHIBOK SCHOOL GIRLS abducted and taken as hostages, have the support of the Federal Government and the sympathy of the international community, but as they have been released from custody, little is been heard about their welfare and school and empowerment, little is also heard about how resolved is the government in educating women in general in Borno, and Nigeria, majority of women in the North have been burdened by domestic work from childhood, marrying as not so literate adults bearing children and thus, their schooling have been crippled and becoming poorer than their parent, .in this 21st century. The methodology is understanding Poverty in Africa that has gender dimension in educational imbalance and often this has also been demonstrated in war, conflicts and insurgencies across Africa, in Somalia, Nigeria and other flash points where women have been disadvantaged in furthering their education but used as sex slaves or cheap political and religious bargain, years after the Beijing Affirmative action. This paper discussed the gender conflict and crisis in Nigeria in analysis to the Chibok school girls and women, vis a vis poverty and underdevelopment. The recommendations are far reaching, very practical and multi-dimensional.
