Paying the Price: Women and Violence in the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–70

The article examines the experiences of women in the heartland of Biafra during and in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war. Some Nigerian soldiers unleashed violence against Igbo women throughout the conflict. While the few existing studies have focused on rape experiences of women, the prevalent issues of abduction and forced marriages as well as responses of the families of the victims to the development have not been given proper attention. The article suggests that women’s broad support to Biafra placed them in an enemy’ camp against Nigeria, hence, the attacks by Nigerian soldiers.