TY - THES U1 - Master Thesis A1 - Marcucci Leandri, Laura T1 - Women Empowerment in Nigeria: Eliminating Patriarchal Norms and Achieving Peacebuilding N2 - The purpose of this study is to diffuse knowledge about the limited roles women still play in Nigeria, as opposed to the roles they could be playing if they were to be empowered, especially in terms of local and national security. The research questions examined the different ways in which women in Nigeria are suffering the omnipresence of patriarchal beliefs and the norms they entail, which interviews with a sample of nine Nigerian women have testified for. It further analyzed the possible interdependence between patriarchy and insecurity levels, and how empowering women could help building peace in the region. Three experts on the topic were interviewed, and testified for this correlation between women and security, while also pointing out the need for governmental support in terms of financing and policing this inclusion of women. The paper finally proposes a set of recommendations to the different stakeholders of Nigeria, from the civil society and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to the Government itself, on how to reach empowerment and peacebuilding in a sustainable way. Structured mainly on the social and cultural determinants of women’s roles in Nigeria, the study revealed that such determinants need political and legislative will if they are to improve. There is an urgent need for the Nigerian Government to take responsibility for the insecurity the country is facing and acknowledge how this insecurity is curbing any improvement towards both women empowerment and peacebuilding at the national and regional levels. Some of the recommendations include the promotion of dialogue among stakeholders, the implementation of sport programs to diffuse values of tolerance and empowerment, and the alteration of discourse around women and girls to change the conceptualization of power and therefore the roles they play in the society. KW - Patriarchy KW - Culture KW - Nigeria KW - Women empowerment KW - Roles Y2 - 2021 U6 - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:fn1-opus4-72747 UN - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:fn1-opus4-72747 SP - 114 S1 - 114 ER -