The role of Igbo women in peace building during the Nigerian civil war: 1967 – 1970

Abstract

The salient roles of Igbo women during the Nigeria Civil War were a catalyst in the survival of many dying and suffering children, and the broken and frustrated Biafra soldiers. The roles too were important in the internal security of Igboland in the absence of the men who were on the war front to defend the fatherland. The devastation caused by the war affected the culture and traditional institutions of the Igbo, which in effect, posed a double challenge to the women. Igbo women were not only victims of the war, they were challenged too with roles of acting as heads of their various families and bridge builders in communal and inter-communal relations. The women amid uncertainties embarked individually and communally on peace-building processes. A spectrum of interventions embarked by the women to bring the end to the war spread across the area of health, business, international relations and food security through their salient actions, which enhanced and promoted human security and created positive peace in the land. This paper examines these roles played by Igbo women during the war and how their efforts helped bring about peace and hope during, and after the war period. Looking back and the devastation of that time, the Igbo women today would abhor any wars in Nigeria. We employ the conflict transformation theory in this narrative and conclude that Igbo women are creative peace-builders.