GENDER DIMENSIONS OF BOKO HARAM TERRORISM IN NIGERIA

ISSUES, PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

Most societal impression of what it means to be a woman underscores peacefulness, mothering, caring and interdependence rather than violence; thus, terrorism has been seen as a machismo crime. But is that the whole truth? This study interrogates the extent of women’s involvement in Boko Haram terrorism; and the challenges that such involvement poses to counter-terrorism in Nigeria against the erroneous belief that terrorism is a male crime. A qualitative descriptive research by design, the liberal feminist theory guided the analysis of the data collected from secondary sources, mostly scholarly and empirical research findings, and online newspaper reports and articles. It argues that women maintained active involvement in Boko Haram terrorist activities and that the involvement constitutes a bane to the success of counter-terrorism measures which are lopsided against men. It recommends a gender-mainstreaming approach to solving the problem of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria.