A lecturer in the Department of Theology, Veritas University Bwari, Abuja, Dr Richard Gokum has called for income – generating initiatives to support women displaced by conflicts in the country.
Gokum said such initiatives should focus on vocational training and microfinance to provide displaced women with opportunities for financial independence and stability.
He said this during a roundtable organised by Veritas University’s Centre for Peace and Development supported by Rosa Luxemburg Foundation West Africa to review three research studies: “The Impact of Farmers-Herders Crisis on the Quality of Life of Women and Girls in Internally Displaced Camps in North Central Nigeria; “Effects of Bwari conflict and Enugu sit – at – home on women,” alongside experiences and conditions of domestic workers, the role of stakeholders and the strategies of mitigating domestic work abuses in the North-west region.
“There is an urgent need for income-generating initiatives that focus on vocational training and microfinance to provide displaced women with opportunities for financial independence and stability,” the university Don said.
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While reviewing one of the books: “The Impact of Farmers-Herders Crisis on the Quality of Life of Women and Girls in Internally Displaced Camps in North Central Nigeria,” Dr Gokum said that women and girls in IDP camps are often exposed to gender-based violence (GBV), disrupted access to education, and limited reproductive healthcare.
The university Don added that all of these hinder their ability to recover from displacement and reintegrate into stable social structures.
Another lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Veritas University Bwari Abuja, Dr Anweting Ibok noted that constant conflicts such as farmer-header crisis, Boko Haram insurgency, communal crisis and their attendant consequences had left us as a state stagnant.
Ibok, who reviewed the book: “Effects of Bwari conflict and Enugu sit – at – home on women,” authored by Dr Ikechukwu Maxwell Ukandu and Dr Nneamaka Obodo added that the sit – at – home order posed a serious consequence to the development of South East and Nigeria at large.
According to the university Don, it had a negative socio-political implication for the area.
Also, Dr Chinaemelum Okafor of the Department of History and International Relations, Veritas University, who reviewed: “Effects of Bwari Conflict and Enugu Sit-at-Home on Women” described how conflicts have impacted the lives of women in various ways via socio-economic disruption, social marginalisation and Gender-Based Violence.
“The report draws attention to how women’s social and economic roles intersect with conflict dynamics. It explores how traditional gender roles, such as caregiving and homemaking, place women at the centre of conflict’s consequences, while also examining how they mobilize resilience strategies,” Okafor said.
The Don said women, especially those engaged in the market trading and small businesses, face immense economic losses during conflicts, as markets close and supply chains are disrupted.
“Women’s roles as caregivers and homemakers are further strained in times of conflict, as resources like food and shelter become scarce,” the varsity Don stated.