The objectified female body and the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria: Insights from IDP camps in Abuja

ABSTRACT

Scholars have written extensively on the multiple roles and functions of female bodies. Their depictions in areas such as reproduction, sex, oppression and empowerment, peace and protest, weakness and strength, among others, have been examined through the ages. In addition, the objectification of female bodies in terms of rape, mutilation, forced pregnancy, physical assaults and forced labour within the domestic sphere and the society at large have been articulated. One notable gap in the literature in this regard has to do with a focus on the emerging trends in which armed groups are exploitatively engaging female bodies in their activities. This study, therefore, relies on interviews with Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Durumi and Lugbe camps, Abuja, two officials of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working with displaced persons in the selected camps, development partners, documents, and published sources to examine the diverse ways in which the Boko Haram group has objectified the female body (as objects of sexual gratification, procreation, propaganda and profile enhancement, care-giving and gatekeeping as well as weapons of suicide bombing) and the socio-cultural factors fuelling their actions toward females in the northeastern part of Nigeria.