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Females in a Circle of Violence in Northeastern Nigeria

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Females in a Circle of Violence in Northeastern Nigeria Journal of Information and Computational Science ISSN: 1548-7741 FEMALES IN A CIRCLE OF VIOLENCE IN NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA Sule Isah Kazaure1and P. Durga Rao2 1Research Scholar Department of Sociology, School of Humanities Lovely Professional University, Phagwara-144411, Punjab, India. Email: [email protected] 2Associate Professor Department of Sociology, School of Humanities Lovely Professional University, Phagwara-144411, Punjab, India. Email: [email protected] Abstract: Women and girls experienced human right violation both at the hands of the sect and the security agents since the emergence of Boko Haram terrorist group of Nigeria in northeastern region.Violation of human rights among the security personals has been a common phenomenon. It is on this background, this paper intends to explore how Boko Haram abducted females and their deployment as suicide bombers. The paper deployed secondary data and content analysis to arrive at this junction.The present paper further discusses on the mode of recruitment and cases of sexual harassment particularly among the security agents in the Internally Displaced Persons camps. It also addresses the consequences faced by the survivors in their respective communities. Keywords: Girls, Kidnapping, Rape, Suicide Attack, Women, 1. Introduction Females in the Northeastern region of Nigeria found themselves in a circle of violence as a result of the Boko Haram (BH) terrorist group activities. According to United Nations Human Rights (UNHR, 2019), females in the Northeastern region of Nigeria are increasingly becoming vulnerable to rape, kidnapping, suicide bombers and other violence. Findings reveal that two third of females in the region have experienced gender-based violence since the emergence of BH terrorists. Increasing rate of rape in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps is alarming. Women and girls that suffered from the BH insurgency experienced rampant rape at the hands of security agents particularly in the IDPs camps. The Amnesty International (2006) stresses that rape cases by security agents was common and the perpetrators go unpunished. However, since the adaptation suicide tactics by BH insurgents, females were being used as objects of killing. The first female suicide bombing occurred in June, 2014 at the 301 Battalion Barracks, Gombe State which killed both the girl and some soldiers (Omilusi, 2015). In a report by Global Volume 13 Issue 10 – 2020 www.joics.net 41 Journal of Information and Computational Science ISSN: 1548-7741 Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) cited United Nation (UN) and UNICEF that found that in the first quarter of 2017 twenty-seven women and girls were employed as suicide bombers (GCPEA, 2018). Tossoukpe (2019) found that between 2011 and 2017 BH deployed 244 female for suicide attacks. The higher number of females being used for suicide mission by BH ranked the group number one in deploying of female suicide killers as against male counterpart in the world. On the basis of this background, this paper explores how females suffered by been abducted by BH members and their employment as suicide bombers as well as the mode of recruitment deployed. The paper further discusses how women and girls were subjected for sexual harassment at the hand security agents. The present paper is developed on the bases of secondary source data and content analysis. 2. Abduction of Females by Boko Haram The abduction of females especially from school manifests one of the Boko Haram ideologies of dismantling Western education in the country as stresses by the sect‟s leader, Abubakar Shekau in a video clip after school girls abduction declares, “I abducted your girls at Western education school…I said Western education should end…Western education should fold up. I will sell them in the market……” (Vanguard Newspaper, May 6, 2014, p.5). Boko Haram terrorist group is famous in abduction and far-reaching use of female suicide attacks (Global Terrorism Index, 2018). The abduction of about 300 female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014 was first of its kind and some of them reportedly were taken to Chad, Cameroon and Sudan (Zenn, 2014, p.1 and Daily Trust Newspaper, April 16, 2014, p.5) and this marks the rise of female suicide attacks within four months after the kidnapping (Omilusi, 2015b, p.64). For example, an arrested girl in 2016 confessed before the security personals as one among over 300 kidnapped Chibok girls (GCPEA, 2018b). Another mass kidnapping was followed with abduction of 110 female students of Government Girls‟ Science Technical College in Yobe State (Adepelumi, (2018). Abatan (2018) argues that abduction of females by the sect was another strategy of having sufficient women and attracts males to join the sect and get free marriage. BH was responsible of destroying of over 1,200 schools and coerced over 19,000 teachers to cease teaching since 2009. The sect killed over 1,000 children in various schools attacks (Adepelumi, 2018b, Pp. 36-37). 2.1 Why Boko HaramUses Female for Suicide Attacks Suicide attacks are lethal practice typically executed by fanatic group. Suicide terrorism seems to be arising globally. Females have being involved in the act of terrorism for a century either as leaders or architects (Omilusi, 2015c, p. 63). More often, employing of suicide attack is depending on the capability and willingness of the group to deploy it (Horowitz, 2015, p.75). Nevertheless, some scholars object that suicide attack is used when there is probably less victory compared to other tactics (Ibid, p.76).The first female suicide attack was executed on the military barrack, Gombe State in June, 2014 till now BH surpasses all terrorist groups in deploying female suicide attackers globally. From the commencement of this tactic to February, 2018, 469 suicide attacks were executed in Volume 13 Issue 10 – 2020 www.joics.net 42 Journal of Information and Computational Science ISSN: 1548-7741 240 cases that killed 1,200 people (Pearson, 2018, p.33). Moreover, within this period, female suicide attacks carried out by BH was more than that of Black Widow of Chechen rebels; Hamas; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eel am (LTTE); Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ); al-Qaeda of Iraq and Kurdistan Workers‟ Party combined (Ibid, p.34). Between April 2011 and June, 2017, the sect executed 434 suicide attacks in which 244 were carried out by women and girls. For instance, in 2016, women and girls involved in four out of five suicide attacks (Global Terrorism Index, 2018b). Embarking of female in suicide bombing by BH would not be unrelated with the almost a general perception of both members community and security personnel that females are less involved in criminal activities and a common perception that men often partake in suicide attacks and other criminal offences. Consequently, females are less attracted for thoroughly searching by the security personnel. Moreover, Muslim women and girls usually used hijab (a well-covered after dress cloth) which can serve as a cover to hide of bombs (Pricopi, 2016, p.42) For example a suicide bomber detonated bomb at Federal College of Education, Kontagora, Niger in the examination hall was wearing hijab as buttressed by a student “I saw the bomber wearing a hijab and running towards the auditorium then the bomb exploded and killed her” (This day Newspaper, November 13, 2014, p.1). Moreover, both culturally and religiously in the region prohibit female to be frisked by a man. And that security checkpoints are managed by men in the region. Pricopi (2016b, p.41) argued that the rationale behind use of females by BH was based on its effectiveness and attraction of greater media attention since women are perceived as weak while combat roles and lethal attacks considered as roles of men. Another finding disclosed that engagement of female suicide bombers was because of their cheap labour compared with males particularly those of higher status are regarded more valuable and saved from involving into suicide bombings. Nevertheless, most often females of economically disadvantaged families were given money to voluntarily sacrifice themselves for the mission. The finding further states that female bombers more often target schools, markets and motor parks while their males counterpart target religion places and governmental institutions (Warner and Matfess, 2017, p. 29). A compiled report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and African Development Bank (AfDB) positioned Nigeria number 157 out of 189 nations with low human development. In addition, the country has the higher level of gender inequality particularly in the Northern eastern region. Women that joined the sect are higher among the marginalized segment of the society (Tossoukpe, 2019b, p.7). This manifested on the negative impacts on women in the socio-economic and political spheres of the society due to religion and cultural factors impacts motivation to befall suicide attackers. Therefore, it can be deduced that BH has taken advantage of the poor economic status of the women for easy recruitment and enlisting for suicide bombing. Deploying of females particularly girls has become a modus of operandi of the sect in which four out of five suicide attacks carried out by BH were females (UNICEF, 2017). Volume 13 Issue 10 – 2020 www.joics.net 43 Journal of Information and Computational Science ISSN: 1548-7741 2.2 Mode of Recruitment of Female Suicide Bombers Boko Haram took advantage of the kidnapped females and tactic fully applied some strategies of recruitment for the mission. Tossoukpe (2019c) finds that between 2011 and 2017BH trained more than 434 suicide bombers in which 244 were females. He further states that females who denied to marry members of the sect decided to partake in suicide bombing other than facing mortification from the aggrieved sect‟ members. Although, women who willingly joined the sect and married to BH members have higher status and privileges than those kidnapped and forced to marry BH members.
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