Women and the War on Boko Haram

For well over a decade, Boko Haram has waged a campaign of terror across northeastern Nigeria. In 2014, the group shocked the world when it abducted 276 girls en masse from a school in rural Chibok, with the resultant #BringBackOurGirls movement attracting support and solidarity from around the glob [...]
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For well over a decade, Boko Haram has waged a campaign of terror across northeastern Nigeria. In 2014, the group shocked the world when it abducted 276 girls en masse from a school in rural Chibok, with the resultant #BringBackOurGirls movement attracting support and solidarity from around the globe. Yet Boko Haram's campaign of violence against women and girls goes far beyond the Chibok abductions. From its very inception, the group has systematically exploited women to advance its aims, committing acts of sexual violence under the guise of religiously sanctioned marriage. Perhaps more disturbing still, many Nigerian women have chosen to become active supporters of the group, willing even to sacrifice their lives as suicide bombers. In both cases, the long-running marginalisation of women had played a key role, both in their local communities and by the Nigerian state itself. Having conducted extensive fieldwork throughout the region, Hilary Matfess provides a vivid and thought-provoking account of Boko Haram's impact on the lives of Nigerian women, as well as exploring the wider social and political context that fuels the group's violent misogyny.