06/06/2026
Nigeria's Insecurity Is Creating Another Crisis We Are Not Talking About Enough: Violence Against Women and Girls.
When people hear about insecurity, they often think about kidnappings, bandit attacks, insurgency, communal clashes, and loss of lives.
What we do not talk about enough is the silent suffering that many women and girls endure in the middle of these crises.
Behind every attack, displacement, or conflict, there are often women and girls whose stories never make the headlines. Some are subjected to sexual violence. Some are forced into marriages they did not choose. Some are trafficked. Others carry deep emotional and psychological wounds long after the violence has ended.
Not long ago, I listened to the account of a young woman who had been displaced by violence in her community. While the world focused on the conflict itself, her greatest struggle began after she escaped. She lost her sense of safety, her education was interrupted, and she became vulnerable to exploitation simply because she was a young woman trying to survive.
Sadly, her story is not unique.
Across different parts of Nigeria, insecurity continues to place women and girls at greater risk of abuse, exploitation, and violence. Many cases are never reported. Many survivors never receive justice. Many continue to suffer in silence.
As a society, we must begin to recognize that insecurity is not only a security issue. It is also a human rights issue, a women's rights issue, and a child protection issue.
We must strengthen protection mechanisms for women and girls in vulnerable communities. We must ensure that survivors have access to justice and support services. We must hold perpetrators accountable. And we must have honest conversations about the risks faced by young women, including those deployed to areas with known security concerns for NYSC.
Every woman deserves to live without fear.
Every girl deserves to pursue her future without the threat of violence.
And every Nigerian deserves a country where safety is not a privilege but a right.
The protection of women and girls cannot remain an afterthought. It must become a priority.
