‘Women more affected by insecurity’

Agency Reporter

Historians and researchers have called for more government support for women caught on the receiving end of insecurity across Nigeria.

They made the call at the Maroon Square Discourse 2020, an online conference tagged: ‘Struggle of women in Nigeria through history: women’s rights and challenge of insecurity in Nigeria’ organized by Maroon Square and supported by Ross Luxemburg Foundation.

Speaking at the event, Oliseh Kadishi, historian and researcher, stated that the state of insecurity in Nigeria had metamorphosed, and has been perceived to have assumed more complex dimensions especially in 2002 when Boko Haram came into the scene.

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She said: “during insecurity, women are raped, kidnapped, forced into marriage, trafficked, used as sex slave among others. These in turn creates psycho-emotional effects on the women both as victims and non-victims. Thus, women have been demoralised and discouraged from achieving their full potential and contribute to the development of the nation.

“Presence of insecurity and conflict in Nigeria has affected women, emotionally, mentally and psychologically, all which have had negative effects on their socio-economic development,” she added.

Also, Temitope Fagunwa, Department of History and International Studies, Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State, in his presentation, said women and children bear the brunt of conflicts and insecurity that most conflicts in history ended with more women and children casualties.

He said the Boko Haram insurgency has indeed affected women in a multi-dimensional way, and that the crisis has precluded them from accessing education, social benefits, healthcare services, wage labour among others.