Niger: Women’s views on insecurity in the Tillabéri region

The crisis is exacerbating women and girls’ exposure to gender-based violence, and increasing their economic risk and isolation.

The security crisis in Niger’s Tillabéri region is harming communities, especially women, who have little opportunity to speak out. This report is based on the testimonies of 52 of these women. It outlines the impacts of insecurity as experienced by them and highlights problems related to girls leaving school, early or forced marriages, domestic violence and widowhood. Recommendations presented reflect the concerns and priorities of the women consulted.

About the authors

The empirical data used for this analysis was collected by a group of women from the target communes of Abala, Ayorou, Banibangou, Ouallam and Tillabéri. The report was drafted under the coordination of Ornella Moderan, with the support of Fatoumata Maïga.

Ornella Moderan is a Researcher specialising in security and governance issues in the Sahel, with a particular interest in gender inequalities. She was head of the Sahel programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) from 2020 to 2022, and has written many publications on the situation in the region. Fatoumata Maïga is a Research Officer in the ISS Regional office for West Africa, the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, Dakar.

The report was produced as part of a collaboration between the Niger office of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP Niger) and the ISS.