Nigeria

Nigerian women lack vital services, including gender-based violence prevention and response for many of the more than 20 million survivors. Activists called for a state of emergency in February 2025 to address the rapidly growing trend of femicide, which has increased by 240 percent in 2025 compared to the prior year. Reintegration efforts continue to fall short for women and girls freed from captivity by extremist groups, who often face severe stigma upon return to their communities, particularly if they have children fathered by fighters. Limited mental health support and inadequate economic assistance programs leave women vulnerable to re-traumatization and poverty. In 2023, maternal deaths in Nigeria made up over a quarter of the world’s maternal morbidity. Despite obstacles, Nigerian women continue to lead economically and politically. Women own 40 percent of micro, small, and medium enterprises, making their participation vital to strengthening Nigeria’s economy. Although women comprise just under 4 percent of Nigeria’s parliamentarians, these leaders continue to advance movements like #BringBackOurGirls—to raise awareness about the Chibok girls’ abduction—and the “Reserved Seat for Women” bill—to address women’s underrepresentation.

Yet, despite their prominent roles in advocacy and enterprise, women remain exposed to worsening poverty and insecurity. US foreign assistance cuts are likely to exacerbate the ongoing economic crisis by eliminating local jobs and cutting off aid and civil society funding. Extremist groups may exploit the widening economic and humanitarian vacuum by increasing recruitment of young men and women seeking food, income, and security. The Nigerian government continues its counterinsurgency campaign, but subsequent clashes will continue to prevent displaced civilians from returning home. Women and girls in displacement centers are exposed to gender-based violence, overcrowding, and inadequate sanitation. Ongoing efforts to promote economic recovery and security are an opportunity to recognize and support women’s entrepreneurship and political engagement, as well as specifically address the needs of women and girls impacted by conflict. 

On November 17, 2025, gunmen abducted 25 schoolgirls in Kebbi State, underscoring the continued targeting of girls’ education and the severe protection risks facing adolescent girls. Attacks on schools and the abduction of students remain a major barrier to learning in Nigeria: a UNICEF report marking 10 years since the Chibok kidnappings found that only 37 percent of schools across 10 states have early-warning or threat-detection systems in place. School attacks restrict girl’s mobility, interrupt schooling, and heighten risks of sexual violence and exploitative captivity, particularly in rural communities with limited security presence.

Nationwide insecurity worsened in early November 2025 as a deadly turf war between Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Lake Chad region reportedly killed nearly 200 militants, illustrating shifting power dynamics. Pervasive violence increases women’s exposure to sexual violence, displacement, and loss of livelihoods, particularly in communities already destabilized by conflict.

Boko Haram’s renewed attacks and abductions in 2025 have intensified risks for women and girls. Those rescued from extremist captivity continue to face grave challenges, including government inaction, delayed justice processes, stigma from their communities, and limited access to mental-health or economic reintegration support—leaving many at risk of retraumatization and marginalization. The Nigerian military has also unlawfully detained women and girls for their perceived association with Boko Haram, further compounding the protection gaps facing survivors.

A November 12, 2025 assessment lists Nigeria among the world’s highest-risk hunger hotspots, with over 30 million people facing acute food insecurity. Armed conflict and extreme weather exacerbate food scarcity by driving people from their land; this is especially dire for women farmers who depend on agricultural yields for their livelihoods. Women and children make up 80 percent of internally displaced persons.

Farmer-herder conflicts continue to intensify among climate-driven scarcity, increasing insecurity and reported instances of sexual violence while straining basic services upon which women and girls rely. Persistent farmer–herder violence shifts greater agricultural and household labor onto women, and climate-induced dry seasons heighten tensions and expose women to increased threats during daily livelihood activities.

Gender rights activists and civil society’s ongoing campaign for the “Reserved Seats for Women” bill—which proposes 108 seats in federal and state legislatures exclusively for women—continues to gain momentum. In mid-November 2025, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, publicly expressed support for the bill. Women currently hold just four out of 107 seats in the Senate and 15 out of 356 seats in the House of Representatives, comprising only 4 percent of all federal lawmakers.

Nigeria’s Presidential High-Level Advisory Council on the Support of Women and Girls met in Abuja in October 2025 to coordinate concrete national action on women’s empowerment. The forum brought together ministers, civil society, and traditional leaders to align fragmented gender initiatives and accelerate progress on women’s economic inclusion, health, and leadership.