Financial Exclusion, Gender, and the Lure of Boko Haram

There is a large disparity in financial inclusiveness for those people living in northern Nigeria in contrast to those living in southern Nigeria. According to a 2019 report by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), Nigeria has more people living in extreme poverty than any other country in the world. Access to education and lower levels of income all contribute to the lack of financial inclusion for both men and women in the North, but particularly for women. These gender barriers have acted as an enabler for the recruitment of women into the Boko Haram insurgency. Much of the academic and grey literature on Boko Haram’s gender politics tends to focus on the lived experiences of women before, during, and after their association with the group. In response, this chapter, by means of a qualitative exploratory analysis, attempts to illustrate how Boko Haram exploits the financial exclusion of women for its benefit. Attention is given not only to the socio-economic barriers associated with northern Nigeria but also to the limitations of the deradicalization and reintegration programmes designed to counter the insurgency. Findings suggest that ensuring effective financial inclusion of women is more likely to occur if Nigeria links Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 5 [Gender Equality] and 10 [Reduced Inequalities]) to its counterterrorism approach. To this end, recommendations are proposed, which include a series of action items for the Nigerian government and its partners. Central to this plan of action is a coordinated response which impedes Boko Haram from exploiting the ongoing financial exclusion of women in northern Nigeria.