This article examines the gendered impacts of the Boko Haram insurgency in North East Nigeria, identifying both indirect and direct forms of violence experienced by women and girls. The study notes that some women have suffered indirect harms such as widowhood, loss of children, and other collateral vulnerabilities, while others have been exposed to direct violence including death, forced abduction, and related assaults. It further highlights forms of violence that degrade women’s humanity, such as their deployment by insurgents as sex slaves, human shields, and suicide bombers.
Using textual and contextual analysis informed by objectification theory, the authors argue that women have not only faced these vulnerabilities but have also been instrumentalized as objects of terror within Boko Haram’s operations. They contend that the weaponization of women’s bodies - as bomb vessels and human shields - illustrates the extreme corporal victimization and objectification characteristic of contemporary asymmetric warfare. The paper concludes by recommending gender-sensitive innovations in counter-insurgency and P/CVE efforts, including the increased involvement of women personnel in intelligence gathering and security operations.