The Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP) has called for greater influence for women in Nigeria's peace and security architecture, urging policymakers and stakeholders to move beyond symbolic representation and ensure women play active roles in shaping decisions that affect peacebuilding and national security.
The call was made during the Society's Second Quarterly Peace and Security Dialogue, held under the theme, "The Future of Women's Security in Nigeria: From Representation to Influence."
The event was hosted under the leadership of the National President of SPSP, Professor Adeniran Aluko, and brought together peacebuilding experts, academics, practitioners and other stakeholders to examine the progress and challenges surrounding women's participation in peace and security efforts in Nigeria.
Delivering the keynote presentation, Dr. Lydia Umar reviewed Nigeria's implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security over the past 25 years.
She acknowledged that Nigeria has recorded notable progress through the implementation of three National Action Plans, the establishment of women mediators' networks and the creation of peacebuilding structures across several states.
Despite these achievements, Dr. Umar stressed that the country's next priority should be ensuring women have genuine influence over peace and security policies rather than merely occupying positions at decision-making tables.
She identified terrorism, communal conflicts and political violence as some of the major security challenges that continue to affect women and girls disproportionately across the country.
Participants at the dialogue identified several factors limiting women's influence, including harmful cultural practices, religious misconceptions, inadequate political will, insufficient funding and the exclusion of young women, women living with disabilities and rural women from key decision-making processes.
During the interactive session, participants shared experiences from peacebuilding initiatives within and outside Nigeria, calling for greater economic empowerment for women, stronger community-based mediation structures and effective implementation of national policies at the grassroots level.
The dialogue, anchored by Professor Fidelis Allen, also adopted key resolutions aimed at strengthening the Society's activities. These include the digitisation of SPSP membership, increased collaboration with institutions offering peace and conflict studies, and the publication of presentations from the Society's quarterly dialogues in a book to preserve knowledge and advance peacebuilding advocacy.
The Society reaffirmed its commitment to promoting inclusive peacebuilding, gender equality and sustainable conflict resolution, maintaining that Nigeria's peace and security architecture will be stronger when women are empowered not only to participate but also to influence critical decisions.
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