Grace Ijeoma Umeh
Security in Nigeria is often discussed in barracks and government houses. But women are on the frontlines in ways that don’t make headlines: as mothers preventing youth recruitment, as market leaders sharing intelligence, as counselors healing trauma, and as professionals in police, military, and civil society. The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, (NAWOJ), through its WINSEC Summit, is pushing to make this work visible and honored.
Women and Security: Beyond the Uniform
When we say “national security”, we think soldiers and police. But security starts at home. A mother who notices her son’s sudden withdrawal and intervenes before cult recruitment is doing counter-radicalization. A market woman who reports strange faces at motor parks is doing community intelligence. NAWOJ argues these contributions must be recognized as “security work”, not just “women’s work”.
Why WINSEC Summit? The Data Gap
WINSEC – Women in Security – Summit exists because women’s role in peace and security is under-documented and under-funded. UN Resolution 1325 mandates women’s participation in peace processes. Nigeria adopted a National Action Plan. Yet at LGA security meetings in Edo, women’s seats are few. At policy tables, their voices are soft.
NAWOJ wants to honour women at WINSEC for 3 reasons:
Visibility: If girls in Uromi see women police commissioners and female conflict mediators honored, they will aspire.
Policy Influence: Honored women get access to speak to governors, legislators, security chiefs. Their solutions move from workshops to budgets.
Network Building: WINSEC connects women journalists, security officers, traditional rulers’ wives, and activists. Networks save lives during crises.
Case Studies: Women Securing Communities
In Plateau, women’s groups negotiate ceasefires between farmers and herders. In Northeast, women survivors lead deradicalization for repentant fighters’ wives. In Edo, women vigilante groups in rural communities gather intelligence on kidnappers’ movements. These are not “soft” roles. They are strategic.
Female journalists in NAWOJ amplify these stories, counter fake news about attacks, and demand accountability when security fails. During #EndSARS, women journalists documented police brutality and provided safe reporting channels. That is security work.
Barriers Women Face
Despite impact, women face barriers: cultural stereotypes that security is “men’s job”, lack of funding for women-led peace projects, and risk of attack when they speak out. A woman journalist reporting on kidnapping in Edo forests risks her life. WINSEC Summit creates protection and solidarity.
The Call: From Honour to Power
Honoring women at WINSEC is step one. Step two is power: appoint more women as Divisional Police Officers, LGA security committee chairs, and advisers on women/children to governors. Fund women’s peacebuilding organizations. Include gender analysis in security budgets. When women design security policy, communities are safer.
Security is Everyone’s Business.
Nigeria will not be secure until women are safe, heard, and leading.
Accprding to Aishatu Ibrahim, National Chairperson of NAWOJ, “NAWOJ ’s WINSEC Summit is not an award show. It is a strategy session. By honoring women, Nigeria invests in the half of its population that holds communities together when conflict tears them apart.”