WOMEN EMPOWERMENT AND SUSTAINABLE PEACE IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigates the impact of women’s empowerment on sustainable peace and socio-economic development in Katsina State, Nigeria. Katsina State was selected due to its high prevalence of socio-cultural barriers to gender equality, ongoing security challenges, and limited women's participation in economic activities, making it a critical case for examining empowerment's role in fostering stability. A mixed-methods approach incorporating descriptive and inferential statistics was employed, with quantitative data collection via structured questionnaires. Questionnaires were administered online using Google Forms to a sample of 380 respondents, all verified as residents of Katsina State through self-reported location data and IP address filtering to restrict responses to Nigerian IPs, particularly those geolocated to the north-western region. Inferential statistics, including chi-square tests, were used to assess relationships between variables such as empowerment levels and peacebuilding outcomes. The study revealed that women make notable contributions to peacebuilding and economic growth, but these are often unrealised due to barriers. However, their contributions are hindered by socio-cultural, economic, and institutional barriers. In addition, findings show that the government barely makes efforts to empower women, and the limited efforts made often fail to address the main cause of the women's lack of empowerment. Some of the main challenges affecting women’s empowerment are: poor access to financial resources, unstable employment, and limited asset ownership. Socio-economic characteristics of respondents, including age, marital status, education, employment, and income, highlight vulnerabilities such as high unemployment (57.1%) and low education levels (20.1% with no formal education), which correlate with reduced empowerment (χ² = 12.45, p < 0.05). The study places emphasis on the need to implement more inclusive and effective empowerment measures, like grassroots programs, improved collaboration among stakeholders, and the engagement of community leaders to shift cultural perceptions. The research concludes that concerted efforts by the government and community are essential to empower women as agents of change, thereby enabling their full contribution to sustainable peace and socio-economic development in Katsina State, Nigeria.