Formal Education and Women’s Resilience Post Conflict-Induced Disasters: A Gendered Perspective on Life in an Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp(s)

Abstract

This paper discusses the impact that access to formal education has on the resilience of women who have been displaced by the protracted conflict-induced disaster (bokoharam) in Northeast-Nigeria. The qualitative research was conducted phenomenologically in an inductive and interpretive manner; the results were interpreted using thematic analysis to explain how education intersects with gender, residence, culture, resilience, and recovery. The results were depicted using thematic mapping. The data analysis results made it evident that the factors influencing access to formal education pre-displacement did not equally apply to both genders and suggest that women were marginalized. The interviewed respondents noted that post-displacement, formal education has contributed to their resilience as they read, write, communicate, show respect to one another, and maintain a positive attitude; the women created an informal support group. The testimonies of the respondents bring the conclusion that although culture influenced their access to education before being displaced, the new culture (family, learning, faith, hope, and support) they have developed in the Internally Displaced Persons camp fills them with hope to such an extent that they now express interest in having access to formal education for their advancement. A method for reintroducing education in the region was suggested.