Interrogating the Experiences of Women in the Conflict Process: Lessons from the Nigerian Terror War
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Abstract
While several efforts have been made to examine the Nigerian terror war, the experiences of women in the conflict process have not been adequately interrogated. This study is therefore aimed at investigating the different levels of women involvement in the conflict process with a focus on the Nigerian terror war. Explaining the roles and experiences of women in conflict could take place at three levels of analysis. First, women may be seen as victims who experience greater violations in conflict situations. Second, women may be seen as conflict perpetrators, even though this dimension is often ignored because of their soft psychology. Third, women could play a key role in mitigating conflicts through their participation in post-conflict policy formulations. This study is significant because it contributes to the expansion of knowledge on the experiences of women in the Nigerian terror war in particular, and contributes to building nuances and analytical frameworks for understanding the place of women in the conflict process in general. This study employed interview as an instrument of data collection and other secondary sources of data such as books, journals, reports by local and international bodies, and national dailies/newspapers. The data generated is analysed using thematic analysis.
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