Gender & Development Igbo Women's Socio-Economic Impact on Nigeria Post-Nigerian-Biafra War
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Abstract
Record ID: 69
Award(s): Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship; Excellence in Research Communication
Program Affiliation: Grad-Undergrad Research Mentorship
Presentation Type: Podium
Abstract: With the growing focus on development in Nigeria from Western scholars and media the local perspectives often heard are political figures and men in positions of authority within society, leading to the exclusion of women's experiences and narratives in current development projects as well as development project through Nigeria complex history. My research on the Nigeria-Biafra War contributes to the limited work on non-traditional lenses of war, shifting focus away from Western, patriarchal perspective of war and conflict, specifically concerning conflicts in African states. The Nigeria-Biafra War was a detrimental occurrence for Nigeria and although there is scholarship on the matter, it is limited in how it assesses the civil war and the wars historical impacts. It is evident that this war still impacts the state of Nigeria 53 years later, it is imperative to explore how it has impacted women whose voices and experiences have frequently gone unexamined in scholarly work on this topic. This research is conducted primarily through literacy analysis of poems and memories of Igbos during the war and post-war and is supported by secondary data analysis of quantitative data collected by individuals who have worked on studies related to this research. This work seeks to encourage more scholarship by African women that explores conflicts, in Africa and the Global South, with a lens that intersects the various social identities.