Surviving Boko Haram Captivity: Gender Roles, Agency, and Resilience at the International Christian Centre, Edo-State (Nigeria).

Abstract:

This article examines the experiences of young women and children affected by Boko Haram's violence—a terror group in Nigeria, focusing on how their lives within the insurgency's grasp provide a lens into broader gender dynamics. It highlights the roles of resilience and agency, particularly in the context of captivity and escape. While the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) they faced is acknowledged in several literatures, the intricate dynamics of surviving captivity and navigating escape are underexplored. Drawing on qualitative data from the International Christian Centre, this study examined the ways in which young women and children actively navigated their captivity through expressions of agency, resilience and complex gendered dynamics. It explores both their adherence to and reshaping of traditional gender roles, framed through the lens of multiple or ‘overlapping identities’. This approach informs diverse survival strategies embedded in the integration and normalization of gender dynamics within the context of captivity, escape and survival strategies.