Gender Dimension to Security Governance in Nigeria

Women's effective involvement in the security sector has been recognized as essential to transforming the sector to one that is more adaptive, efficient, and fully responsible. The question then becomes, why are policies and initiatives aimed at integrating women's security issues and involvement in security decision-making so far removed from actual decision-making processes in various situations? Are these two agendas distinct and unrelated? Is there a fundamental institutional element at play that helps make accepting women's needs within the greater security discussion challenging? In response to these and other questions, this chapter employs a gender-sensitive human security approach to articulate the structures and processes that guide security governance in a variety of national contexts in Nigeria.