The case of wars and terrorism is being waged by three distinct actors:The government of Nigeria, Boko Haram and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF). While many resources have been dedicated to Countering terrorism, little attention has been paid to the role women play in the countering of insurgency.
Boko Haram has played on the common perception of women as nonviolent to effortlessly mainstream women into their operations, using them to gather intelligence, using them as recruiters and promoters of radical ideologies to indoctrinate abductees and other converts in Boko Haram enclaves. In other cases, women are unwilling perpetrators and are forced into becoming suicide bombers, sex slaves and forced labourers.
There is a growing awareness on the significance of mainstreaming women into Prevention and Countering of violent extremism (P/CVE). Recommendation of women is further strengthened in curbing insecurity through these policies set up by the government locally and internationally:
- Prioritising the recruitment of women in the security forces particularly Nigerian Police Force for post conflict reconstruction in the North East.
- Mainstreaming women effectively into all government and donor led reconstruction programs.
- Strengthening the participation of women in political processes at local, state and national levels.
- The UN Security Council in several of its resolutions has affirmed the importance of including women in these processes.
Similarly, the working document of the Presidential Committee on the North East program under Buhari's admimistration only emphasises gender based violence with palliatives such as economic empowerment and psychological support but, there is little or no local ownership of the P/CVE process and women have faced many challenges when trying to participate such as lack of overall accountability within the process, trust deficit, lack of funding and trouble deciphering what P/CVE means exactly for effective programming within communities.
The inclusion of women in P/CVE processes as well as peace and security matters is a valuable step towards building sustainable peace in Nigeria.
# womenasvesselsofpeace
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