How Conflict Zones in Nigeria Deny Women, Girls Their Reproductive Rights

By Abdulsalam Mahmud,

In the heart of Nigeria’s conflict zones, beyond the crackle of gunfire and the silent fear of displacement, lies another war that is seldom discussed—the fight of women and girls to access their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

For many trapped in these troubled regions, basic dignity is stripped away not only by violence but also by the quiet erosion of rights that the rest of the world often takes for granted. When homes are razed, schools destroyed, and families scattered, the struggle for food, water, and shelter often takes precedence.

Yet, in this grim reality, women and girls continue to menstruate, to give birth, and to need protection from sexual violence. Conflict does not halt the biological cycles of life, but it worsens their consequences.

The Shadow of Displacement

Nigeria’s northeast has carried the heavy burden of insurgency for more than a decade. The Boko Haram crisis alone has displaced over 2 million people, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Most of them are women and children. Living in overcrowded camps, these women are stripped of privacy and adequate healthcare.

Something as ordinary as seeking sanitary pads becomes a luxury, while access to contraceptives is almost non-existent. In 2022, a UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) assessment of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states revealed that only one in four women in displacement camps had reliable access to essential reproductive health services.

Many pregnant women walk miles in unsafe terrain just to find a clinic, risking both violence and death. Too often, they arrive to find facilities understaffed or out of supplies.

The Menace of Sexual Violence

Conflict not only restricts rights but weaponizes them. Reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented cases of sexual exploitation and abuse of displaced women in camps—sometimes by those meant to protect them. Girls, some as young as 12, face forced marriages, rape, or transactional sex in exchange for food.

This tragic reality is amplified by silence. Survivors rarely come forward due to stigma or fear of retribution. Yet, the consequences ripple outward: unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and untreated sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Where reproductive rights should offer safety, conflict replaces them with cycles of vulnerability and trauma.

Maternal Health in Crisis

Even outside displacement camps, maternal health in conflict-affected areas paints a dire picture. Nigeria already has one of the world’s highest maternal mortality ratios—512 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2018).

In conflict zones, the numbers are far worse. The absence of skilled birth attendants, poor referral systems, and destroyed health facilities mean that complications like hemorrhage or obstructed labor often end in death.

The stories are chillingly familiar. Women forced to give birth on the floor of overcrowded camps without medical assistance. Girls under 15 married off to fighters or displaced men, enduring dangerous pregnancies. Mothers dying not from complex diseases, but from lack of access to basic antenatal care.

Period Poverty and Dignity Denied

Periods, too, become a battleground in displacement. For adolescent girls, menstruation without access to sanitary products means missed schooling, poor hygiene, and shame. In camps where soap and clean water are scarce, girls use rags or leaves in place of pads, exposing them to infections.

A recent UNICEF report highlighted that in crisis-affected areas of Borno, nearly 70 percent of girls miss school during their periods.

The silence around menstruation in Nigeria makes it harder to address. Conflict only deepens the stigma. In settings where survival is prioritized, menstrual health is dismissed as secondary. Yet, for girls, this neglect locks them in cycles of exclusion and indignity.

Failing Legal Protections

Nigeria has signed onto international frameworks that guarantee reproductive rights, including the Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa. Yet, the translation of these commitments into practice remains weak, especially in conflict zones.

Policies and laws cannot protect women who cannot even reach functioning clinics or report cases of abuse.

The Nigerian government, alongside humanitarian partners, has tried to roll out reproductive health interventions such as the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for crisis settings. While these interventions provide critical lifelines, the scale of need far outweighs the resources.

Gaps in coordination, underfunding, and insecurity mean that many women remain unreached.

Pathways Forward

Denying reproductive rights in conflict zones does more than harm individuals—it cripples communities. Every woman who dies in childbirth, every girl forced out of school due to her period, every survivor silenced by abuse is a loss that diminishes Nigeria’s future.

Urgent steps are needed. Humanitarian actors must prioritize SRHR as core emergency aid, not as an afterthought. This includes ensuring that camps have stocked health centers, trained personnel, and safe reporting channels for survivors of abuse. The government must also enforce accountability for perpetrators of sexual exploitation within camps.

Equally important is empowering displaced women themselves. Community-led initiatives where women design and deliver SRHR solutions often work better than externally imposed models. From training midwives within camps to supporting small-scale pad production for menstrual hygiene, solutions exist—they only need the political will and resources to scale.

A Silent Right, A Loud Need

Conflict may silence communities, but it cannot erase the fundamental rights of women and girls. To deny them reproductive health is to deny them humanity itself. As Nigeria navigates the long road to peace, it must remember that rebuilding a nation is impossible without safeguarding the rights and dignity of those who give it life..

Mahmud is a passionate health writer, who can be reached at: [email protected]