Gender, Security, and the Press

Examining the Contributions of Nigerian Female Journalists in Counter-terrorism Narratives

Abstract

Nigeria is one of the countries facing a high level of insecurity and terrorism and journalists play a crucial role in shaping public understanding of counter-terrorism efforts. Yet, the contributions and experiences of female journalists remain understudied in media and security studies. This study investigates how Nigerian female journalists report, interpret and influence counter-terrorism narratives, focusing on their roles, challenges, and the gendered dimension of their work. Using existing literature, media texts and documented field experiences, the study explores how female journalists contribute to counter terrorism efforts through setting an agenda, human interest framing, and community-level intelligence gathering in their reports. The analysis shows the unique perspectives women bring to security communication, including their emphasis on human interest stories, ethical considerations, and access to vulnerable groups often overlooked by mainstream security reporting. Despite their contributions, Nigerian female journalists face significant challenges such as safety risk, gender bias within the newsroom, limited institutional support, poor payment, and exposure to psychological and physical stress in conflict reporting. This paper argues that recognizing and strengthening the role of female journalists is important for developing inclusive and counter-terrorism narratives in Nigeria. The study contributes to the ongoing research on gender and security by showing how female journalists shape public understanding of terrorism, peacebuilding, and counterterrorism.